
PRESENTED BY 



SHAKERISM 



OR 

The Romance of a Religion 

BY 

J. M. PHILLIPPI 

II 

Editor 

The Religious Telescope 




DAYTON, OHIO 
THE OTTERBEIN PRESS 
1912 



UNITED BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
W. R. FUNK, AGENT. 

1912. 



©ift 
Aifcor 

KAY 28 »? 



FOREWORD 

WHEN about eight years of age I first 
heard of the Shakers. In the village 
of Midway, Fulton County, Illinois, 
the Methodist Church was divided into north 
and south branches because of the prominence 
of the slavery question. This resulted in two 
church buildings. Preachers for the southern 
Methodist Church frequently came from the 
South. One of these, whose name is not re- 
called, tall and slender, wearing a full beard, 
came from Georgia to make an address at his 
church. He tarried one Sunday night in the 
home of the writer, a mile and a half distant. 
In a way now forgotten, the subject of the 
Shakers was introduced. I well remember the 
account he gave of this unique religious sect, 
and the description of its services, particu- 
larly the religious customs and the dance. 

From that day until becoming acquainted 
with Mr. Granville Hixson, foreman of the 
linotype department of the United Brethren 
Publishing House, Dayton, Ohio, I never 
heard the name "Shakers" mentioned. Al- 
though a society existed within six miles of 
Dayton during my Seminary course, and the 
one at Union Village was conducting its af- 
fairs in its own peculiar way twenty-five 
miles distant from Dayton, no mention ever 
was made of either of these societies in my 
hearing. Nor was I aware that either of 
them was living in its own quiet and un- 



ostentatious way within a few hours' walk 
of the city. 

Since the agreement was reached for the 
United Brethren Church to take over the 
Shaker farms and buildings at Union Village, 
in Warren County, Ohio, to be devoted to an 
Orphanage and Home for the United Brethren 
Church, it seemed fitting that a brief history 
of the rise, the progress, and the decadence of 
the Shaker faith and life was owed to the 
readers of the Religious Telescope. Conse- 
quently, this book is prepared, dealing chiefly 
with the society at Union Village, as that is 
the one with which the United Brethren 
Church is concerned. 

Shaker literature is quite abundant, to which 
I have had access. I have made constant 
reference to J. P. MacLean's work, entitled, 
"Shakers of Ohio." This book, though frag- 
mentary, contains many valuable facts not 
hitherto placed in print, and from which I 
have drawn liberally for the volume now in 
the hands of the reader. 

If, in any way, this volume is of beneficial 
interest to any one, or if it shall lead to the 
greater circulation of the Religious Telescope, 
with which it is written to go as a premium, or 
if it shall result in contributions toward the 
payment for the splendid property now being 
acquired by the Church for the purest philan- 
thropy under heaven, the hope of the present 
writer will be realized. In this hope the 
book is sent forth.— J. M. P. 



CONTENTS 

I. Shaker Theology and Worship - 7 

II. Shaker Growth and Expansion - 29 

III. Shaker Life and Customs - - 57 

IV. Shaker Persecution - - 71 
V. Shaker Covenant 87 

VI. Shaker Decadence - - 115 

VII. Shaker Successors - 129 



Shaker Theology and Worship 



HE term Shakers, like Christians and 



Methodists, was given first in de- 



rision. The epithet was applied 
originally because of a peculiar jerking of the 
head, or arms, or body under some particular 
religious incitement. This name has outgrown 
its derisive meaning and is accepted by 
the Shakers of the present day as a term of 
respect. Indeed, they love to be called Shakers. 
Comparatively few of those outside its com- 
munion know the real title of the church — 
"The United Society of Believers in Christ's 
Second Appearing." This stamps the church 
at once as on the millennial order. The Shaker 
views in regard to the second coming of Christ 
were a development of several years. The 
Shakers seem to have originated from the 
Quakers in England. A few of the members 
who had been given to shaking in religious 




7 



8 



Shakerism 



service had been gathered together by James 
and Jane Wardleigh about 1747. At this 
time there were no strange ideas about 
Christ's second appearing. 

On February 29, 1736, Ann Lee was born 
in Manchester, England. She came under the 
influence of the Shaking Quakers, as this 
branch was called, particularly of the Ward- 
leighs, and became an enthusiastic disciple. 
She married Abraham Stanley, or Standerlin. 
He was a blacksmith, she a cook, and neither 
one was able to write. Soon she began to 
claim to have visions from heaven. So far as 
theology is concerned, these visions centered 
about two ideas, both of which became clearer 
in her mind with the passing of years and with 
the aid of more revelations. 

The first so-called spiritual truth implanted 
in Ann Lee's mind was that she was the second 
incarnation of Christ. As Christ had come 
first in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, so 
he came the second time in herself, Ann Lee, 
of Manchester. In harmony with such claims 
was the rather cumbersome name chosen. In 



Shakerism 



9 



this belief Ann Lee's disciples have regarded 
her word as authority, and her instructions 
have received implicit obedience. In this 
faith they have ascribed a duality of sex to the 
Deity, regarding God both as male and female, 
inasmuch as he appeared in a chosen one of 
each sex. There is difference of opinion, even 
among Shakers, as to actual worship of 
Mother Ann, as Ann Lee is called in loving 
endearment. With this doctrine fully devel- 
oped, it would be impossible not to ascribe 
practically the same power to Ann Lee as to 
Jesus, which would carry with it a form of 
worship. The Shaker literature speaks in 
loving terms of Ann Lee, very often using the 
designation "Mother," whose authority is not 
questioned on any subject. 

This view of duality is observed in the spir- 
itual matters of the church of the present 
time. The religious welfare of any Shaker 
community is guarded and directed by four 
elders, two of them men, the other two 
women. This joint government by the sexes 
descends from the chief ministry to the branch 



10 



Shakerism 



communities, then into the families of the 
branch communities, and so on down to the 
smallest bodies and the minute details. 

A second revelation, which is rather a com- 
bination of theology and life, affects the mar- 
riage relation. About 1770, Ann Lee claimed 
to have been told in a vision that the highest 
spiritual attainment on earth can be acquired 
only through the complete separation of the 
sexes, and strict continence in life. Although 
this was preached in England, it was not pro- 
claimed as a law until she, with some of her 
closest friends, came to America in 1774. The 
Shakers had been persecuted quite bitterly in 
England and sought America as a land of 
refuge. Before the writer is a leather-bound 
volume of nearly six hundred pages, entitled, 
"Christ's Second Appearing." Outside of its 
peculiar doctrinal area, this book is not very 
interesting or beneficial to the reader. Along 
with discourses on theology, it gives an ac- 
count of the journey across the ocean, which 
is calculated to give the reader the highest 
regard for Ann Lee. 



Shakerism 



11 



The first settlement was made at Watervliet, 
New York, in Albany County. At this place 
Ann Lee died September 8. 1784. Shortly 
afterward another settlement was made at 
New Lebanon, New York, in Columbia 
County, about twenty-five miles southeast of 
Watervliet. About six miles east of New 
Lebanon, across into Massachusetts, lives 
Elder Joseph Holden, who to-day is at the 
head of the Shaker ministry. 

As Ann Lee's revelation required the separa- 
tion of the sexes, a new mode of life was 
established, whose continuance must depend 
upon proselytes from the world. But one may 
judge that there was some opposition to the 
disruption of domestic ties. Hence, later, we 
find the Shakers divided into two orders; 
namely, the Adamic and the Spiritual. The 
members of the Adamic order were allowed 
to live in families, and the husband and wife 
permitted to enjoy sexual congress, but only 
for the production of offspring. The Spir- 
itual order was supposed to have progressed 
so far as to be like the saved in heaven, where 



12 



Shakerism 



there is no marrying or giving in marriage, 
and where there are no functions of domestic 
life as commonly esteemed. 

When a man and his wife joined the 
Shakers they were compelled to separate, and 
henceforth be but brother and sister. One 
doctrine is that the same love and affection 
must be shown to every person in the Shaker 
community without discrimination or par- 
tiality. It is argued that the relation of hus- 
band and wife, or that of parent to child, 
establishes especially strong ties of human 
affection which cannot be equaled by the re- 
gard which one has for other members in 
the community. 

The same communism which is supposed to 
exist in spiritual matters is enforced in tem- 
poral things. When a man joined the Shakers, 
all his property was turned into the common 
treasury, and it remained there always, whether 
or not he himself remained in the faith. No 
Shaker has had anything in his own right, and 
that plan has seemed to satisfy the great ma- 
jority. There are some at the present day, 



Shakerism 



13 



however, who question whether Shakerism is 
based on correct principles, and others who 
are open and frank in avowing their disbelief 
in this kind of communism, both as to the in- 
dividual life and the acquiring and holding 
of personal property. 

The divine appointment of elders has been 
a leading doctrine throughout the life of this 
sect. The Shakers claim their body was 
organized by Infinite Wisdom, and that their 
spiritual government originated from divine 
appointment. They call attention to the fact 
that God appointed Moses, and established 
him as leader of the tribe of Israel ; also, that 
by divine revelation Moses appointed Joshua 
to succeed him. Then they take the example 
of Jesus Christ in selecting his twelve apostles, 
ordaining them for the work, and the appoint- 
ment of their successors by the apostles them- 
selves, as they "ordained elders in every 
church." So the Shakers reason about as fol- 
lows: That God organized this body of be- 
lievers and appointed Ann Lee as its head. 
Having seen fit to give her this position, he 



14 



Shakerism 



would endow her with all necessary wisdom to 
appoint her successors. At this stage God 
surely would not withdraw his counsel, and 
of course would give these successors divine 
inspiration and direction in the selection of 
their successors, and so on down to the pres- 
ent time. "The written covenant," says a 
preserved letter of the leaders more than a 
century ago, "however, is but a transcript of 
the internal principles and law of Christ which 
govern and protect this society." This quota- 
tion suggests how directly dependent the 
Shakers thought themselves to be on God, 
which carries with it the necessity for per- 
sonal revelations and visions. 

The Shakers believe that their form of gov- 
ernment approached a spiritual and temporal 
theocracy; certainly, it paved the way for a 
type of spiritualism. This consisted chiefly in 
visions. Great credence was placed in these 
revelations, many of which affected the gov- 
ernment and practical life of Shaker communi- 
ties. These were transcribed, and some of 
them posted up as an infallible guide to con- 



Shakerism 



15 



duct. These might not have been discredited 
if they had not run into fanaticism, and revela- 
tions made to different parties which contained 
contradictory instructions. This, however, 
was but a continuation of the gifts said to have 
been possessed by Mother Ann. In fact, she 
is given credit for causing the revelations, as 
many believe that she continued among her 
followers even after her final and unexpected 
departure for heaven. Some thought, too, that 
the Spirit which was in Jesus made special 
visits and bestowed faith, charity, and wisdom. 

These revelations began in the society at 
Watervliet, New York, about 1837-38, and 
moved westward rapidly to other Shaker com- 
munities. Oliver C. Hampton, a shrewd- 
looking man with clear-cut features, a pro- 
nounced spiritualist, who died in 1901, says 
that in the spring of 1839, "the work thus far 
having been kept within the limits of a 
prudence and a godly discretion, by the untir- 
ing efforts of the good ministry and elders, 
now for a time took on a phase, and was as it 
were pushed to an extereme in several direc- 



16 



Shakerism 



tions, which could not have been in unison 
with the spirit of our blessed Mother; but 
which the leaders from some cause seemed un- 
able or unwilling to interfere with, and em- 
barrassing the mediums; who also seemed 
conscientious to convey nothing that did not 
come from good and progressed spirits. But, 
as I am no pessimist, and have not one atom 
of faith in sending the chronicles of ignorance, 
or superstition, or failure down to future 
generations, and, as recently these indiscretions 
were all finally corrected, condoned, reconciled 
among all parties, I now shall draw the 
veil of oblivion over them, and let them rest 
in eternal sleep/' 

The Shakers had a few meetings with spir- 
itualists, but beyond that there appears to have 
been nothing in common between them. They 
did not use the term "medium," and there 
were no table tippings, no rappings, or any of 
the so-called phenomena of modern spiritual- 
ism. The gifts consisted of visions, music, 
angelic songs, and such revelations as should 
be promulgated for the benefit of the people, 



Shakerism 



17 



something like the prophets of old received 
messages from heaven. Miss Susannah Cole 
Liddell, in her eighty-ninth year, now the old- 
est Shaker at Union Village, Ohio, and through 
whose presence there is due the starting of 
negotiations for the purchase of the settlement 
by the United Brethren Church, a most intelli- 
gent and estimable woman, one of the school- 
teachers of the society in its flourishing period, 
is said to have possessed the power of separa- 
tion of spirit and body, at which season she 
took long journeys and performed valuable 
services for the other members. For about ten 
years the Shakers gave more attention to this 
phase of spiritualism than to any other one 
thing pertaining to spiritual or earthly welfare. 

A quotation from MacLean's history, re- 
garding one of the messages a Shaker was to 
deliver, will be of general interest, the reader 
remembering that Dayton is a county seat 
twenty-five miles north of Union Village, and 
that Lebanon is another county seat five miles 
east of the settlement. 



18 



Shakerism 



"The great difference accorded to the 
Shakers by the denizens of Lebanon and those 
of Dayton was a matter of remark among be- 
lievers. About the year 1820 a Shaker 
brother of Union Village had a vision, in 
which it was revealed that the Shakers should 
place a curse upon Lebanon and a blessing 
upon Dayton. In their early history Shakers 
were ever obedient to heavenly commands. 
David Darrow felt that the command must be 
obeyed. The first messenger selected was 
Francis Bedle, who demurred and even refused 
to perform the mission. Finally, he gave his 
consent provided Richard McNemar should be 
his attendant. McNemar disapproved of the 
whole scheme and thought it should be passed 
over ; but, being obedient to higher powers, he 
consented reluctantly. Together the two 
brethren rode on horseback through the prin- 
cipal street of Lebanon, waved their hats, and 
pronounced woe upon all persecutors. The 
same day they appeared on one of the streets 
of Dayton, riding rapidly, waving their hats, 
and pronouncing the blessings of God upon the 



Shakerism 



19 



town and all its inhabitants. News of the 
action of the Shaker missionaries in Dayton 
spread upon the wings of the wind, over the 
banks and hills of the Miami and Mad rivers. 
The farmers regarded the Shakers as pos- 
sessed of deep religious foresight. Dayton 
had made but slow progress. There were 
farmers who now believed the town, having 
been blessed by holy men of God, would be- 
come prosperous. Some rented and others 
sold their farms and moved to the town, giv- 
ing it an impetus which has ever so continued. 
Of Lebanon and its enterprises, on the other 
hand, its local historian, in his 'Centennial 
Sketch/ has been forced to proclaim that its 
population has remained stationary for four 
decades. " 

Shaker worship has some peculiarities. The 
division of the sexes was maintained in the 
church with strictness. The churches usually 
are oblong, the men sitting at one end, the 
women at the other. The minister conducting 
the service would stand at one side of the 
building, but about midway from end to end. 



20 



Shakerism 



Time was not considered in the worship, and 
any one who had a message or an exhortation 
was at liberty to deliver it. The church at 
Union Village, built in 1818. still stands, a 
marvel of workmanship. The place for wor- 
ship was on the first floor. The second floor 
has rooms, some of which were occupied by 
the elders, others by the eldresses. A double 
stairway leads to this second floor, some lat- 
tice work in the wall of the closed stairway 
permitting the spiritual overseers to peep 
through in order to observe the conduct below. 

"Jehovah's Chosen Square" was the desig- 
nation of a spot of ground, a half acre in 
area, less than a mile northeast of the present 
church building. Here the people would 
gather in the summer season to enjoy the 
special outpouring of the Spirit. They would 
preach and sing and dance and receive revela- 
tions, and justify the common name of 
Shakers. At the close of a meeting at this 
place, which usually lasted about five hours, 
the participants would march to their respec- 
tive homes. 



Shakerism 



21 



Another special meeting was called "the 
Yearly Sacrifice/' At this time all the people 
would confess their sins, the men to men and 
the women to women, and adjust all things 
that had not been right among themselves. 
These are said to have been seasons of great 
spiritual rejoicing, and that words unfitly 
spoken, and that deeds known and unknown, 
but of a wrong character, were confessed, 
forgiveness asked, and all spiritual life 
brought down to date without sin or iniquity, 
open or concealed. 

A novel feature of Shaker worship was the 
dance. This was regarded as sacred, and as 
the first mode of divine worship. Its per- 
petuation was considered most acceptable to 
God and productive of blessings upon his 
people. Curiosity prompted many to attend 
these dances, and the conduct of observers 
sometimes was below the standard. MacLean 
says in his history that these public meetings 
were given up because of the conduct of stu- 
dents from the Lebanon University. One of 
these students, but who claims to have been 



22 



Shakerism 



guilty of no misdemeanor, Mr. J. M. Griffith, 
a personal friend, furnishes by request the 
following account of the Shaker service: 

"It was my privilege frequently during the 
summers of 1871 and 1872 to visit the Shakers 
of Union Village. We always tried to visit on 
the days when they performed their dance, 
as we called it, in connection with their Sab- 
bath worship. On a Sunday morning, about 
nine-thirty, they would begin to assemble at 
the church. The women and girls, clad in 
their usual costumes, wearing the straight 
straw bonnet, would arrive in two-horse 
wagons, driven by one of the brethren, would 
alight and enter the chapel at their end of 
the building. The men in their broad- 
brimmed hats and sleeveless coats would 
come in wagons and enter the door near their 
end of the house. The meeting-house was 
about twice as long as wide ; so, when divided 
in two parts, it would make two rooms about 
square. The elders, or preachers we would 
call them, would have chairs at one side be- 
tween the women and men. At ten o'clock 



Shakerism 



23 



the services would begin. The elders would 
talk or exhort quite at length, several taking 
turns in speaking for about an hour and a 
half, when they would arise and give the 
notice that their exercises would change. The 
women and girls would proceed to carry the 
benches in their end of the room and stack 
them up so as to give as much floor space as 
possible. The men would do the same, leav- 
ing the room with a good clear space. The 
singers were then asked to take their places. 
There were from twelve to twenty of them, 
about all young men. The women and men 
would form for the march, two and two, each 
party having its own end of the room; but, 
if the ring encircling the singers would be too 
crowded in twos, they would put three in line, 
or more if necessary. The older women came 
first, and on down to the little girls seven or 
eight years old. The men were formed in 
like manner, the older ones first, down to the 
little boys. Thus was formed a circle, half 
men and half women. At a given signal the 
singers would begin to sing, keeping time by 



24 



Shakerism 



swinging both arms and rising on their toes. 
Then the procession would begin to move 
around and around, the singers keeping time 
with their hands and step with the music. 
You may imagine how the little ones would 
need to stretch and the taller ones to hold in 
for all to keep step together as they marched, 
especially as they made the turn at either end 
of the oblong circle. Yet it all was done 
decorously and with as much religious 
solemnity as any other part of the worship. 
They were courteous to all well-behaved vis- 
itors, and were free to answer questions and 
give any information sought/' 

At the present time the Shakers wear little 
distinctive garb, either men or women. How- 
ever, the close-fitting bonnet generally is pre- 
served, and some of the older ones retain 
the shoulder shawl, while a few of the women 
still older yet wear the customary dress of 
fifty years ago. 

Time has worked changes in customs as 
well as in theological views and in ideas per- 
taining to property. For instance, back in 



Shakerism 



25 



the sixties the question of insuring buildings 
arose, and on January 1, 1881, it was decided 
first at Union Village that some of the build- 
ings should be insured. These newer steps 
do not indicate any lesser trust in God, but 
they reveal a willingness to use the means at 
hand for protection against loss. Time obliter- 
ates all mere human distinctions and brings 
all followers of the Christ into a harmony 
of view touching both religious faith and 
business affairs. 



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Shaker Growth and Expansion 

WITH the spread of the Shaker belief 
and the establishment of communi- 
ties in New York, Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Kentucky, 
this book cannot deal. Suffice it to say that 
the organization of the community at New 
Lebanon, New York, was the most important 
of all, for it ever since has been the seat of 
the central ministry. Here the elders have 
maintained their residence, and from this 
place have exercised an oversight of all things 
spiritual. These elders, in addition to ap- 
pointing their own successors, usually have 
selected elders for the newer societies 
throughout the Western States, all of such, 
however, being ratified by the local communi- 
ties over which they were to serve. The one 
first in the eldership holds a position some- 
thing like that of a bishop with all his episco- 
pal functions. The second man is supposed 



29 



30 



Shakerism 



to work in harmony with his superior. The 
first eldress occupies a corresponding posi- 
tion with regard to the women, though the 
general power is much more limited. The 
second eldress is associated with her in all 
things, but having the second place of power 
and influence. 

To know the strange history of Union Vil- 
lage, one must go back to the year 1799, if, 
indeed, he can afford to stop short of John 
Calvin and his times. Then Cincinnati had 
less than five hundred people, and Kentucky 
supported more souls than did Ohio. Pres- 
byterianism of the strictest predestination 
sort had taken a strong hold in Kentucky, and 
the Kentucky Synod had been organized. On 
the Gasper River, in Logan County, a power- 
ful revival meeting began in the Pres- 
byterian church, conducted by John Rankin. 
Thousands upon thousands of souls were con- 
verted amid the wildest demonstrations that 
have occurred in religious life on the Ameri- 
can continent. Out of this revival three 
churches were planted in Kentucky and Ohio. 



Shakerism 



31 



As revivals and predestination to heaven or 
hell do not fit together harmoniously, many 
preachers and laymen began to rebel at the 
rank Calvinism which had been preached. 
This so-called heresy permeated Cumberland 
Presbytery, of the Kentucky Synod, and it 
finally withdrew, or was helped to withdraw, 
and formed a church which now is known as 
the Cumberland Presbyterian. Beyond this, 
however, the Cumberland Presbyterians are 
not connected with the Shakers or with their 
Union Village settlement. 

The new converts in Kentucky professed 
to receive revelations from heaven. They 
had visions, saw angels, and claimed to dis- 
cern a new light from above. This assertion 
was made so frequently that the term "new 
light" was applied to them. This was an 
epithet of reproach, and never has been re- 
garded an honor. Although some develop- 
ments in the East were looking in the same 
direction, this Kentucky revival was the 
foundation in the western part of the country 
of what commonly is known as the "New 



32 



Shakerism 



Light" Christian Church, subsequently named 
the "Christian Convention." 

More and more trouble arose between the 
revivalists and the Calvinistic Presbyterians. 
Some of the former began to withdraw, and 
some of the latter helped them out. They 
were termed "schismatics" by the orthodox 
Calvinists, and as such withdrew unto them- 
selves to hold meetings and to enjoy the 
special manifestations. For a time it looked 
like the Presbyterian Church of Kentucky 
would be destroyed. Indeed, it never has re- 
covered from the shock it received from the 
"great Kentucky revival." The recognized 
leader of the schismatics was Barton W. 
Stone, who with his colaborers went every- 
were preaching this new faith. The Ohio 
River was crossed, and the half-dozen Pres- 
byterian churches established in Ohio were 
visited and converts readily made. One of 
these churches went by the name of Turtle 
Creek. This stood at the present site of Union 
Village. The Presbyterian pastor was named 
McNemar, who, though suspected of being 



Shakerism 



33 



tainted with the new doctrine, was permitted 
to preach the gospel. The Turtle Creek 
church, pastor and people, went over almost 
bodily to the new faith. Thus the work 
spread, gathering converts everywhere. 

The accounts of the "great Kentucky re- 
vival" were printed in all the newspapers. 
The Shakers about New Lebanon heard 
of the wonderful manifestations, and, 
through a sympathetic feeling, mingled per- 
haps with desire to gather into their own fold, 
sent a deputation of three men to visit the 
Kentucky and Ohio communities where God's 
power had been displayed so marvelously. 
These three men, John Meacham, Benjamin 
Seth Youngs, and Issachar Bates, started 
from New Lebanon at three o'clock on the 
morning of January 1, 1805. They were car- 
ried in a sleigh the first sixty-two miles, but 
after that traveled by foot, with one horse to 
carry their baggage. Passing through Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore, and Washington, they en- 
tered Kentucky, where their course led them 
through Lexington, Abingdon, and Hawley. 



34 



Shakerism 



About the first of March they arrived at a 
place called Paint Lick, and traveled thence 
to Cane Ridge, where Barton W. Stone, 
above mentioned, entertained them hospitably. 
From that point they turned their faces 
northward, crossed the Ohio, stopped at a 
church called Springdale, about ten miles 
north of Cincinnati, and then proceeded to 
Turtle Creek, where they arrived on March 
22, having traveled 1,233 miles. They went 
to the home of Malcolm Worley, whose house 
stood on the present Shaker farm. Five 
days later Mr. Worley embraced the Shaker 
faith, declaring "that his heavenly Father had 
promised to send help from Zion," and add- 
ing, "I am glad that you are come." The sec- 
ond convert was Anna Middleton, a slave, 
which showed that the Shakers did not draw 
the color line. On April 24 following, Pastor 
Richard McNemar, wife, and children, were 
received into the Shaker church. And so 
followed the whole Turtle Creek church, to- 
gether with nearly all the Presbyterian bodies 
which had gone over to the schismatics. Of 



Shakerism 



35 



course, this success aroused antagonism. The 
same hard feelings which the Presbyterians 
had shown to the ones they called heretics 
were displayed by the latter toward the 
Shakers. The manuscript records that the 
Shakers kept are filled with incidents of an- 
tagonism toward the Shakers, some of which 
developed into the most severe persecution. 

On the first Sunday at Turtle Creek these 
three missionaries read a letter sent from 
New Lebanon which, because of the impor- 
tant history now being made, is here repro- 
duced : s 

"The Church of Christ unto a people in 
Kentucky and the adjacent States, sendeth 
greeting: We have a work of God among 
you — who worketh in divers operations of his 
power, for which we feel thankful, as we 
have an ardent desire that God would carry 
on his work according to his purpose. We 
know that God's work, as it respects the sal- 
vation and redemption of souls, is a strange 
work which he hath promised to bring to pass 
in the latter days. We also know that the 



36 



Shakerism 



servants of God have been under sackcloth 
and darkness since the falling away of Apos- 
tolic Order, which from the time of Christ's 
ministry continued about four hundred years. 
Since that time anti-Christ has had power to 
reign in Christ's stead, and hath set up the 
abomination that maketh desolate, spoken of 
by Daniel the prophet, and which, according 
to the Scriptures, Christ has to consume with 
the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the 
brightness of his coming. But not to tarry 
on those things, we will come to matters of 
the present day. The time being nearly fin- 
ished, according to the Scriptures, that anti- 
Christ should reign, and time fully come for 
Christ to make his second appearance, God, 
out of his everlasting goodness and mercy to 
his creatures, in the fulness of his promises, 
raised up to himself witnesses and gave unto 
them the same gifts of the Holy Spirit that 
were given to the apostles in the day of 
Christ's first appearing. The light and power 
and gifts of the Holy Spirit were so convinc- 
ing, especially in the first pillar, attended with 



Shakerism 



37 



tihe word of prophecy in so marvelous a 
manner that every heart was searched and 
every rein of those that heard was tried. The 
loss of man and the work of salvation by 
Christ in the present witnesses appearing so 
unspeakably great that, although we had been 
a people that were greatly wrought upon by 
the spirit of God, and were looking for the 
coming of Christ, yet the light manifested in 
the witnesses showed us that we were un- 
speakably short of salvation, and had never 
traveled one step in the regeneration towards 
the new birth. For it showed us that it was 
impossible for those who lived in the works 
of natural generation, copulating in the works 
of the flesh, to travail in the work of regenera- 
tion and the new birth. And, as these wit- 
nesses had received the revelation in this last 
display of grace of God to a lost world, they 
taught and opened unto us the way of God 
which is a way out of all sin in the manner 
following: First, to believe in the manifes- 
tations of Christ in this display of the grace of 
God to a lost world; secondly, to confess all 



38 



Shakerism 



our sins; and, thirdly, to take up our cross 
against the flesh, the world, and all evil; 
which counsel we, by receiving and obeying 
from the heart, have received the gift of God 
which has separated us from the course of 
this world and all sins of our knowledge, for 
twenty years past and upward. 

"We, therefore, as servants of Christ and 
children of the resurrection, testify to all 
people that Christ hath made his second ap- 
pearing here on earth, and the poor lost chil- 
dren of men know it not. We know there 
are among the wise and prudent of this gen- 
eration who are looking for the coming of 
Christ in this latter day who entirely over- 
look the work of God as the ancient Jews 
did in the day of Christ's first appearing; 
for Christ has come and it is hid from their 
eyes and we marvel not at it, for Christ said, 
'I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, that thou hast hid these things from 
the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto 
babes.' But as the work of God which has 
wrought mightily in us to purify us from 



Shakerism 



39 



the nature of sin has been progressive from 
step to step, as we were able to hear, from 
one degree to another, we cannot write par- 
ticularly in this letter. We hope and trust 
you will be so far informed as will be neces- 
sary for your salvation. We feel union with 
the work of God that is among you as we 
have heard, and have a desire to communicate 
something to you that will be for your good. 
The light of God in the gospel has taught us 
the straight and narrow way that leadeth to 
life, and not only so, but has given us to see 
the devices of Satan that, from ages past 
down to this day, when God hath given his 
Holy Spirit to enlighten and convert the chil- 
dren of men, of sin, Satan would also work 
to heal their wounds slightly and to lead them 
into by and forbidden paths, if possible, to 
dishonor and destroy the work of God, even 
in them that God had enlightened and called 
to be his witnesses. We have had a great 
desire that some of you might have visited 
us before now, and we have been waiting for 
some time to know the mind of God in rela- 



40 



Shakerism 



tion to you. We now, out of duty to God 
and our fellow creatures, have sent three of 
our brethren unto you; namely, John 
Meacham, Benjamin S. Youngs, and Issachar 
Bates, who, we trust, will be able to declare 
things more particularly, and to open unto 
you the way of life which is a way out of 
all sin — a way that the vulture's eye never 
saw and the fierce lion never passed. Re- 
ceive them, therefore, as messengers of Christ 
and friends to your salvation." 

This letter was written in the church at 
New Lebanon, New York, December 30, 
1804, and was signed in behalf of the church 
by David Meacham, Amos Hammond, and 
Ebenezer Cooly. 

It was read in the church whose name was 
changed later from Turtle Creek to Union 
Village, and which comes into possession of 
the United Brethren. The old building is 
not standing now, but the location of its suc- 
cessor is the same. Thus, within a few years, 
the Turtle Creek church belonged to the Pres- 
byterians, the schismatics, and the Shakers. 



Shakerism 



41 



While a new faith is calculated to draw 
the unstable unto its support, the gospel of the 
Shakers succeeded most admirably. Disciples 
generally come through the personal influence 
of the leader. The Shakers of Union Village 
were fortunate in having David Darrow ap- 
pointed as their first minister, sent west in 
1805 by the ministry at New Lebanon. He 
had not been on the ground long until Ruth 
Farrington was sent as the first eldress to 
stand in the ministerial lot with him. Darrow 
was one of the best leaders of early Shaker- 
ism. He was shrewd, tactful, aggressive, 
possessed of large executive ability, and main- 
tained the confidence of all the people. By 
the end of 1805 the Shaker community num- 
bered 370, having admitted sixty families and 
unmarried people of both sexes. 

Buildings became necessary. The usual 
order of building is to have a central group, 
constructed on the dormitory style. The large 
brick building at Union Village will serve as 
an illustration. It is three and a half stories 
high, possessing full basement, finished from 



42 



Shakerism 



top to bottom in cherry, constructed in "T" 
shape, equipped with wide halls with living 
rooms on either side, having an open stairway 
on either side of the main hall leading to the 
next story, and showing the best of workman- 
ship and material throughout. This building 
has thirty-two rooms, besides the chapel on 
the second floor. In it 320 people have been 
housed, and there were ample accommoda- 
tions for all. The living rooms are spacious, 
and were furnished with the best equipment 
when occupied by the Shakers. 

Besides this home there were three other 
living places in this group, one of them con- 
structed for a nursery. The church also was 
erected here, and school privileges provided 
for. This was called the center family, and 
still goes by that name. It was the custom 
to have a north family, a west family, a south 
family, and an east family, the different 
groups of buildings ranging from a quarter 
of a mile to a mile and a half from the center 
group. One of these clusters would be set 
aside for what was called the gathering order, 



Shakerism 



43 



people coming into the Shaker faith but not 
yet having accepted its covenant provisions. 
Another would be chosen for the boys, an- 
other for the girls, and serving so until a 
change was deemed advisable in the resident 
arrangement. Sometimes those living at one 
family would be exchanged for those living 
at another family, as it was not considered 
wise for residents to become too closely at- 
tached to any one place. 

And so the Shaker farm and membership 
were developed from the small beginnings in 
the home of Malcolm Worley. Worley' s> 
children withdrew from the Shaker commun- 
ity later, and at his death attempted to re- 
cover the property he had placed into the 
common treasury. By that time these center 
buildings had been constructed, and, if the 
sons had been successful, the community 
would have been well-nigh bankrupt; but the 
courts held that the covenant into which 
Worley entered at his conversion was binding 
upon his property. 



44 



Shakerism 



The Shakers expanded in different direc- 
tions. They went into the north part of 
Ohio, and, within eight miles of the public 
square of Cleveland, purchased a large tract 
of land and started a millennial colony. For 
about three quarters of a century this flour- 
ished, but was sold out for $316,000, and the 
remaining inmates transferred to other 
Shaker communities. This was called North 
Union, or, the union north from Union Vil- 
lage. Messengers went over into Adams 
County, Ohio, and established another com- 
munity, which they called East Union, mean- 
ing east from Union Village. Likewise, 
South Union was in Kentucky, and West 
Union in Indiana. About 1822 or 1823, the 
Watervliet Society, east of Dayton about six 
■failles, was established and named for the 
original society in eastern New York. It was 
ordered dissolved by the New Lebanon min- 
istry in the last decade, and most of its in- 
mates were removed to Union Village, some 
of them having come from North Union at 
the dissolution of that body. The White- 



Shakerism 



45 



water Society, near Harrison, Ohio, is being 
conducted still. There are no Shaker com- 
munities in Indiana, and the remaining one 
in Kentucky is nearing the close of its earthly 
pilgrimage. 

The Shakers are splendid judges of soil. 
Doctor Orton, former geologist of the State 
of Ohio, now deceased, said that this land at 
Union Village is the best in the State. Elder 
David Darrow found it immensely productive, 
and in his reign of twenty years, from 1805 
to 1825, the society enjoyed great prosperity. 
Four of the buildings of the center group 
still standing were erected during his admin- 
istration. The large office building, said to 
be the finest in the State, was constructed in 
1810-11. The residence, afterward used as a 
post-office, was built in 1811. The meeting- 
house was constructed in 1809, but recon- 
structed in 1818, and still stands. The large 
nursery and apartment house, in which a 
modern laundry now is installed, was added 
in 1819. Other buildings were erected, which, 
including barns, number more than fifty. 



46 



Shakerism 



Land was bought, and other received by 
donations from time to time, which finally 
aggregated 4,500 acres. When the writer 
first visited the farm some of the ground had 
been sold, the remainder comprising 4,005 
acres. No change has been made in the 
boundary line since, so that the United 
Brethren Church takes over the entire place 
of more than four thousand acres, with its 
equipment of above fifty buildings. 

When David Darrow died he left a mem- 
bership of about five hundred. His reign was 
succeeded by a period of uncertainty and dan- 
ger, which continued for four years, marked 
with schism, revolt, and rebellion. During 
this term the West Union Society in Indiana 
broke up on account of malaria, and Union 
Village received a portion of its membership. 

The largest accretion to the Shaker ranks 
at any one time followed what was called the 
Miller excitement. The Millerites were com- 
posed of a large number of people, with head- 
quarters in Cincinnati, who had set a time for 
the reappearing of Christ. Several successive 



Shakerism 



47 



dates were fixed, but they failed to bring 
forth the expected or desired appearance. 
There was one particular day, about 1846, 
when the Christ was sure to come. An ex- 
mayor of Lebanon espoused the Millerite 
faith, went to Cincinnati, taking along his 
ascension robe, expecting to enjoy translation 
to heaven at a certain moment. Owing to a 
failure of human plans to connect with divine 
purposes and power, this did not happen. 
The man said later that he fully expected to 
ascend to heaven in that particular robe on 
that special day. These are matters of well- 
known history, somewhat ludicrous now, but 
of moment at the time. 

The Millerites were very despondent be- 
cause of the miscarriage of their plans about 
the end of the world. Like Jonah with the 
destruction of Nineveh, they were sorry that 
things were not annihilated according to their 
expectations. In this disturbed state of mind, 
they received some representatives of the 
Shaker community. These messengers, im- 
proving the psychological moment, taught 



48 



Shakerism 



the Millerites that Christ already had come 
the second time in the person of Ann Lee. A 
number of Millerites believed, and it resulted 
in the addition of two hundred converts, a 
large part of them coming to Union Village, 
some to Whitewater. 

The turning point in Shaker prosperity is 
set at about sixty years ago, particularly in 
the wlestern communities. Several reasons 
may be assigned. In the first place, opposing 
marriage, they cannot reproduce themselves, 
and must depend upon proselytes from the 
world to maintain their spiritual order. Again, 
being a communistic society, the Shakers re- 
quire that all people give up their individual 
possessions and ambitions as such. Again, 
some bad people, seeing an opportunity to get 
control of large amounts of money without 
rendering a strict account, came in with evil 
hearts and defrauded to unknown figures. 
Again, in a community of this kind every- 
thing depends upon the wisdom of the leader, 
and sometimes the Shakers have not been 
blessed with that kind of spiritual and tern- 



Shakerism 



49 



poral guidance. Though being opposed to 
war, some deserted the village for the front, 
others were drafted, and this had a deleteri- 
ous effect. Underneath other causes, some 
of the leaders are convinced that lives of sex 
separation are not in accordance with the 
divine order of things, and have lost their 
spirit of aggressiveness. Statistics have not 
been kept to show the growth and the decay 
of the Shaker communities, but it is safe to 
say that they never reached ten thousand at 
any time in the United States. Their num- 
ber is estimated now at about six hundred^ 

One of the interesting missionary expedi- 
tions of the Shakers began March 17, 1807, 
when David Darrow, Richard McNemar, 
and Benjamin S. Youngs set out in search of 
the Shawnee Indians, and six days later ar- 
rived at their village, now called Greenville, 
Ohio. According to the manuscript record, 
the missionaries rode up to a large frame 
house, about forty by one hundred and fifty 
feet in size, surrounded by a half -hundred 
smoking cottages. Some men standing be- 



50 



Shakerism 



fore the door were saluted, and the visitors 
were directed to a wigwam where a man 
could speak English. After asserting that 
feelings were friendly toward the pale face, 
and that red men and white men are brothers, 
the following conversation occurred : 

"Where are your chiefs? We wish to have 
a talk with them." 

"They are about four miles up making 
sugar." 

"What are their names?" 

"Lal-lu-et-see-ka and Te-kum-tha." 

"Can any of them talk English?" 

"No, but there is a good interpreter there, 
George Bluejacket. He has gone to school 
and can talk and read well." 

"What is that big house for?" 

"To worship the Great Spirit." 

"How do you worship?" 

"Mostly in speaking." 

"Who is your chief speaker? 

"Our prophet Lal-lu-et-see-ka. He con- 
verses with the Great Spirit and tells us how 
to be good." 



Shakerism 



51 



Thus the Indians over whom presided the 
great war chief Tecumseh were acquainted 
with religious matters. They made several 
visits to the Shaker village, and nothing is 
on record except what is favorable to the re- 
ligious life and the honesty of the redskins. 
It is not recorded that any of them adopted 
the Shaker faith. 

In one hundred and seven years the 
Shakers at Union Village have had eleven 
persons who were first in the ministry. After 
the interregnum, 1825-1829, Solomon King 
held the place from 1829 to 1835. David 
Meacham succeeded him, and continued one 
year, appointed by his predecessor. It is said 
that he lived "in the meeting-house/' Free- 
gift Wells ruled as first minister from 1836 
to 1843, appointed by the eastern ministry. 
With the consent of the ministry at New Leb- 
anon, he resigned in favor of John Martin, 
who reigned from 1843 to 1859. He was re- 
leased by a representative from the eastern 
ministry, who named Aaron Babbitt, who 
presided over the spiritual affairs from 1859 



52 



Shakerism 



to 1868, embracing the dangerous period of 
the Civil War. He also lived in the meeting- 
house. Amos Parkhurst was appointed by 
the New Lebanon ministry, and was at the 
head of Union Village affairs from 1868 to 
1875. In the latter year William Reynolds 
began his oversight at Union Village, ap- 
pointed by a representative from the East, 
and continued until 1881. Then Mathew C. 
Carter, chosen by the eastern ministry, sanc- 
tioned by the Union Village church, ruled 
until 1890. Then came the memorable and 
disastrous reign of Joseph R. Slingerland, 
who began in 1890 and continued twelve or 
fifteen years. It was one of the worst gov- 
ernments, from the standpoint of temporal 
prosperity, to which any communistic order 
ever submitted. Slingerland's successor, I 
believe, removed to Whitewater, and the place 
since has been vacant. The great tract of 
land purchased in the South under Slinger- 
land, the hotel venture in Minneapolis, and the 
general recklessness with which money was 
taken care of threw heavy financial respon- 



Shakerism 



53 



sibility upon the shoulders of James H. Fen- 
nessey, who became manager of the farm 
after Slingerland. The real estate at Water- 
vliet was so heavily in debt that a mortgage 
of $40,000 had to be placed upon it to pre- 
serve the property, this being furnished by 
Denison University. The State now owns 
this land, and will use it for a hospital. 

The development of the Shaker commun- 
ity depends almost wholly upon the person- 
ality and the executive ability of the chief 
man in charge. Prosperity or decline has 
been noted nearly all these years according 
as the chief elder was able to push things 
forward or was compelled to let matters take 
their own course. But the time came when 
the very best of leaders failed in a task 
which society regards as out of harmony with 
the divine order and process. 



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Shaker Life and Customs 



PRECEDING chapters have named some 
distinguishing characteristics of the 
Shaker life. First, and most impor- 
tant, is its universal communistic order. Sec- 
ond, is the celibate condition in which men 
and women live, reaching even to the separa- 
tion of husbands from wives. 

It may be inferred from the foregoing 
chapters that the Shakers are industrious, 
frugal, simple minded as opposed to osten- 
tatious, and genuinely honest. In all their 
work, their words, and their aspirations, 
these traits show forth as though deeply em- 
bedded in their very natures. Locations were 
selected with a view to developing various 
industries. The Turtle Creek Presbyterian 
church, which appeared in the first chapter, 
was so named because of its proximity to 
Turtle Creek. This stream possessed fine 
opportunities for a mill pond, with necessary 



57 



58 



Shakerism 



dam and race for the grinding of flour. 
Shaker locations always were sought with a 
view to practical activity and life. At Union 
Village thousands of barrels of flour were 
manufactured, and at another water-power 
location on the same ground thousands of 
feet of lumber were sawed. The water at 
the mill pond served also for fish. Factories 
were established, and brooms, stoves, chairs, 
beds, cupboards, and similar articles were 
made right on the ground. The stamp of 
Shaker manufacture was a guaranty for good 
material and splendid workmanship. Garden 
seeds were raised and sold throughout the 
entire section, many people thinking that seed 
would not grow unless it was purchased of 
the Shakers. For several years routes were 
laid out reaching across the Mississippi River, 
the drummers from Shakertown carrying 
garden seeds, discovering purchasers every- 
where, and making a good profit. This was 
discontinued later, according to the records, 
because the brilliant colors on seed packets 
put up by other firms attracted the attention 



Shakerism 



59 



of buyers away from the unpretentious yellow 
and brown packets of the Shakers. Cane 
molasses was an article of manufacture, and 
tons of sugar were made from the maple 
trees. Thousands of sugar trees were native 
to the land, and in one year five thousand 
pounds of sugar were made from the sap 
they yielded. Fifteen thousand bushels of 
wheat have been raised in one year. Bonnets, 
baskets, perfumes, wines, and medicines were 
placed on the local market and attained more 
than a local reputation. The Shaker sarsa- 
parilla carried with it its own guaranty of 
purity. The same was true of peppermint 
and other essences. The present laundry 
building, erected for a nursery, used to be 
stacked with wagon loads of rose bloom, from 
which an attar of roses was extracted for the 
trade. These roses were cultivated very ex- 
tensively on the farm. 

This diversified industry required excellent 
barns and workshops. Everything that the 
community needed was made right on the 
ground, and a large quantity was left over 



60 



Shakerism 



for outside trade. The Shakers living at 
Watervliet rented stalls in the Dayton market 
house, and took their produce there for sale. 
They entered contests at the county fairs and 
carried away prizes. One entry in the jour- 
nal under the date of September 16, 1857, 
says, "Finished burning 120,000 bricks at $2 
per thousand." 

The Shaker farm supports six hundred 
cattle, with a corresponding number of hogs. 
Sheep have been raised extensively, with suffi- 
cient horses to carry on the farm work. In 
the writer's possession is a photograph of 
fifty-eight cattle, mostly Polled Angus, which 
was taken on the Shaker farm, March 1, 
1910. All these were bred, reared, and fed 
on the Shaker farm, and brought $4,700 in 
cash, being sold for export. Farmers have 
known where to go when they wished to tone 
up their stock or change the strain of blood. 

No distinctive garb now marks the Shakers. 
The shoulder kerchief is about a yard square, 
home-made, woven from excellent material, 
and is used more for comfort than religion. 



Shakerism 



61 



The white cap generally is worn by the 
women. The regulation bonnet was made of 
a material resembling straw, yellow in color, 
extending far in front of the face, with a 
silk apron behind. Formerly the men were 
clean shaven. Then short side whiskers be- 
gan to make their appearance. Now any style 
is allowable, though the majority still main- 
tain the smooth face. The men wear any 
kind of clothing they desire. Their collars 
are chosen without regard to rule, and they 
wear or discard the necktie as it suits their 
individual pleasure. 

The sex separation line has been manifest 
in table habits. Generally two dining rooms 
have been maintained, one on either side the 
main hallway, for men and for women re- 
spectively. The old custom of kneeling be- 
fore taking a place at the table has ended, but 
the meals usually are eaten in solemn silence. 
No one who has been a guest at a Shaker 
settlement has any fear that they ever will 
starve, or even live on short rations. The 
very best of food is prepared, and in quanti- 



62 



Shakerism 



ties sufficient to satisfy any appetite. Be- 
sides, the quality of the cooking cannot be 
surpassed by any one anywhere. 

The designing and the unscrupulous have 
taken advantage of the well-known hospital- 
ity of the Shakers. In the prosperous days 
of Union Village no visitor ever was turned 
away. The Sabbath day became an estab- 
lished occasion for the gathering of outsiders, 
ostensibly to attend the services, but in reality 
to enjoy a square meal at the expense of the 
believers. As many as five hundred people 
have taken dinner at the Shaker homes on a 
single Sunday. 

The Shakers always have been temperate, 
although there has been little legislation on 
meats and drinks. Liquor as a beverage al- 
ways has been disapproved. In 1843 Sunday 
meat was put under the ban. In 1848 all the 
hogs were sold except a few to consume the 
waste from the settlement kitchen, but the 
swine did not remain long in disfavor. At 
my first visit to the farm there were six hun- 
dred hogs on the place. Every person is to 



Shakerism 



63 



be his own judge now as to the eating of 
meats. Notwithstanding the Miami Valley is 
a great tobacco country, no tobacco ever has 
been raised on the Shaker premises ; yet there 
is no law against its use by members of the 
community. The weed is used by but few 
inmates of the homes, and that in extreme 
moderation. 

A sane position on the use of drugs has 
been maintained, as would be supposed from 
manufacture of medicines previously narrated. 
For about eighteen years a Lebanon physician 
has been retained by the Shakers, who visits 
the settlement twice every week, and oftener 
should the condition of any of the brothers 
and sisters make it necessary. The patients 
prefer to remain at Union Village, though 
having the privilege of going elsewhere for 
treatment. Some have been taken to hospitals 
in case local nursing was not sufficient for 
recuperation or for comfort. 

Marked simplicity is observed at funerals. 
Services are held over a dead body, any one 
being permitted to speak of the virtues of 



64 



Shakerism 



the departed if so impelled. The early graves 
were unmarked by slab or stone of any kind, 
not even a wooden stake or board designating 
the place. Later, rough stones were used, 
with the initials of the brother or sister 
carved thereon. But the customs and condi- 
tions at Shaker cemeteries in more recent 
years have become similar to those in other 
burying grounds. There are two old Shaker 
cemeteries on the farm at Union Village, but 
for several years all interments have been 
made in the general burying ground at Leb- 
anon. The Shakers frown upon mourning 
or any garb of mourning as being unphilo- 
sophic and contrary to their spiritual belief. 

The temporal affairs of a Shaker commun- 
ity are cared for by deacons. Those in high- 
est authority, selected to manage the real 
estate, sometimes are called office deacons, or 
official deacons, or acting trustees, or trustees. 
They are appointed by the ministry, selected 
because of supposed fitness for their places, 
and are the agents in the buying or transfer 
of any ground. Under these chief deacons, 



Shakerism 



65 



or trustees, are similar bodies of subordinate 
rank. These take charge of the family mat- 
ters, such as purchasing or dispensing food, 
or the direction of any kind of work. Men 
are selected for the male contingent and 
women for the female portion. The names of 
the ministry, elders, trustees, and family 
deacons in 1830, as taken by MacLean from 
the manuscript record and published, are as 
follows, an illustration of the method in vogue 
for over a century: 

"Ministry, Solomon King, Joshua Worley, 
Rachel Johnson, Nancy McNemar; elders at 
center house, Daniel Setting, Andrew C. 
Houston, Eliza Sharp, Molly Kitchell; elders 
at brick house, William Sharp, James Mc- 
Nemar, Anna Boyd, Caty Rubert; elders at 
north house, Abner Bedelle, Joseph C. Wor- 
ley, Charlotte Morrell, Betsy Dunlavy; elders 
at south house, Stephen Spinning, Daniel 
Davis, Elizabeth Sharp, Nancy Milligan; 
elders at west brick house, Eli Houston, 
John Gee, Junior, Caty Boyd, Charity Slater; 
elders at square house, Nathaniel Taylor, 



66 



Shakerism 



Clark Valentine, Malinda Watts, Martha 
Houston; elders at east house, James Smith, 
Jacob Holloway, Anna Bromfield, Peggy 
Knox; trustees or office deacons, Nathan 
Sharp, Henry Valentine, Ithamar Johnson, 
Polly Thomas, Betsy Dickson; family dea- 
cons, Thomas Hunt, William Davis, Amos 
Valentine, Daniel Miller, William Runyon, 
Samuel Holloway, Jesse Legier, Betsy Wait, 
Betsy Patterson, Rachel Duncan, Susannah 
Miller, Jenny Slater, Janna Woodruff, Esther 
Davis." 

It is noted in the above list of names of 
officers that an equal number of men and 
women are chosen for the various places, in 
harmony with the theological idea that the 
male and female elements exist in the Deity. 
This enumeration of houses also represents 
the style of life immediately after the inter- 
regnum of four years, which was noted in 
the preceding chapter. 

Whatever monotony there was in Shaker 
life was relieved by the visit of distinguished 
persons. On June 16, 1825, Henry Clay was 



Shakerism 



67 



received at Union Village, and his visit was 
repeated two days later in the company of 
other persons from Lebanon. On the twenty- 
second of the same month, Governor George 
Clinton, of New York, Governor Morrow, of 
Ohio, General William Henry Harrison, and 
others who had been attending the celebra- 
tion of the opening of the Miami Canal at 
Middletown, looked over the farm and com- 
muned with the membership. On May 2, 
1826, the duke of Saxony, with his retinue, 
paid the community a visit. Governor Jud- 
son Harmon, the present chief executive of 
Ohio, and his successor, James M. Cox, know 
the community well. The latter was raised 
in a United Brethren home, was the first one 
to attach his name to the incorporation 
papers for the Orphanage and Home, and 
gladly gives his time and service as a trustee 
of the philanthropic institution which the 
United Brethren Church purposes to conduct 
on the ground made sacred by the honest, in- 
dustrious, and frugal life of as upright people 
as ever gathered together to serve God in 
their own peculiar way. 



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Shaker Persecution 



RELIGIOUS persecution has been most 
bitter. An exclusive sect showing the 
peculiarities of the Shakers perhaps 
should not expect to go forward free from 
the antagonism of the world and wickedness. 
Their history reveals an abundance of cold- 
blooded plotting and studied antagonism of 
many forms which ought to find no place in 
the conduct of so-called Christian men. 

Ann Lee had not been in America very 
long until she was cast into prison. Her pro- 
nounced opposition to service in the Revolu- 
tionary War, inasmuch as she had come from 
England recently, stamped her as a sym- 
pathizer with King George in the eyes of 
patriotic Americans, and she was thrust into 
jail. The same anti-war spirit being shown 
in 1813, when our country was at war with 
England again, five persons at Union Village 
were drafted into the American army, and 



71 



72 



Shakerism 



two from the Indiana society. Though re- 
quired to join a detachment at Lebanon, they 
were furloughed three days later. A week 
afterward they were marched to Dayton un- 
der charge, and four days subsequently they 
returned home. However, on October 1, they 
were taken to Lebanon again under pretense 
of having deserted, and on the third were 
marched to Xenia, thence to Franklinton, and 
thence to Sandusky. As no amount of per- 
suasion could compel them to shoulder arms, 
they were discharged on November 24, and 
returned home, to the great joy and rejoicing 
of their brothers. 

The same spirit of oppression was at- 
tempted at the opening of the Civil War. 
Some of the younger members were seized 
with the war spirit and ran off to smell pow- 
der. Others were drafted, and fines were 
imposed for not attending general muster. 
At New Lebanon, New York, the political 
wires were crossed, and a strange procedure 
resulted. Through the scheming of Samuel 
J. Tilden, the entire local conscription at New 



Shakerism 



73 



Lebanon fell on the Shakers. Secretary of 
War Stanton, who had lived in Ohio and 
knew the Shakers, decided that they should 
be furloughed as fast as drafted, and this 
order afterwards was confirmed by President 
Abraham Lincoln. 

The Shakers were consistent in their opposi- 
tion to war. When pressed into service, they 
refused pensions, and also. grants of land for 
military duty. MacLean says, quoting from 
manuscript records, that they observed na- 
tional proclamations for thanksgiving or fast- 
ing and prayers, yet were not unmindful of 
the distress caused by the conflict of war. 
Cincinnati held a sanitary fair in 1863, and 
the Shakers contributed one and one-fourth 
barrels of tomato catsup, one barrel of sauer 
kraut, five barrels of dried apples, one barrel 
of green apples, four and one-half bushels of 
dried sweet corn, eight dozen brooms, five 
boxes of garden seeds, ten gallons of goose- 
berry sauce, and five gallons of apple pre- 
serves, representing an estimated value then 
of $158.50. 



74 



Shakerism 



Perhaps the most dangerous persecution) 
was from mobs, the most serious of which 
was formed in 1810. In describing the 
events of this day we let another speak r 
"The first mob that assembled at Union Vil- 
lage was on Monday, August 27, 1810, The 
mob consisted of a body of five hundred 
armed men, led by officers in military array, 
preceded and followed by a large concourse 
of spectators of all descriptions of people, 
estimated at nearly two thousand in number, 
whose object was to witness a conflict between 
the military and a few harmless and defense- 
less Shakers. Among this great concourse 
were many who were friendly to the society, 
and whose only wish was to prevent mischief 
and preserve peace ; but the far greater num- 
ber were either entire strangers or decided 
enemies, who came to support the military in 
case of necessity. Many of these were armed 
in mob array, some with guns and swords, 
some with bayonets fixed on poles or sticks 
of various lengths, and others with staves, 
hatchets, knives, and clubs. These formed a 



Shakerism 



75 



motley multitude of every description, from 
ragged boys to hoary-headed men, exhibiting 
altogether a hideous and grotesque appear- 
ance. This ruthless assemblage gathered for 
the purpose of infringing on the rights of 
conscience, and in the public press of that 
day was called, 'An expedition against 
the Shakers.' 

"This extraordinary proceeding was 
agitated first principally through the instru- 
mentality of one John Davis, John and Rob- 
ert Wilson, and John Bedle, apostates, who 
had become bold in wickedness and false 
accusations against their former coreligion- 
ists, whereby those who had long waited for 
false witnesses to accuse the Shakers of 
something criminal seized the opportunity to 
accomplish their purpose." 

Some members of this mob, while it was 
in process of organization, attended religious 
services August 26, including Captain Robin- 
son, who avowed that they would be on the 
ground the next day for the purpose of vio- 
lence. The Shakers continued at their usual 



76 



Shakerism 



occupations on Monday morning as though 
nothing was expected to happen. Strangers 
who were drawn thither by curiosity and 
expectation began to arrive at eight o'clock. 
It was not until one o'clock that the troops 
entered the village, going south on the Day- 
ton road, marching in order, and halting in 
front of the meeting-house. Among the 
charges preferred was that a boy had been 
murdered by the Shakers and the fact kept 
secret. The boy was produced alive and well, 
looking as though he had been enjoying three 
square meals a day. One demand was that 
some children at the Shaker settlement should 
be given up to their grandfather. The 
Shakers replied that the mother, under whose 
care the children were, seemed to them to 
have the greatest right to her own offspring; 
besides, the children were under the authority 
of their mother, and the Shakers as such had 
no control over them whatever. But the mob 
was bent on violence, and intended to wreak 
vengeance of some kind for fancied griev- 
ances. Some of the men and women of the 



Shakerism 



77 



village were struck with clubs and whips and 
knocked to the ground. There would have 
been bloodshed had it not been for a few 
courageous souls who stepped out on the side 
of the persecuted people and demanded that 
they be given a fair show and a square deal. 
The mob leaders had decided to drive the 
Shakers out of the community, and Major 
Robinson harangued his followers to that ef- 
fect, declaring that they must leave by the 
first of December or suffer the consequences. 
On this proposition he voted the mob, and 
was answered by uplifted hands and a gen- 
eral yell of approval. Miss Liddell, the old- 
est member at present, says that it was neces- 
sary for some of the Shaker leaders to go 
among their people and give firm counsel 
about non-resistance, else they would have 
taken things into their own hands and han- 
dled some members of the mob roughly. 

The Western Star, published at Lebanon, 
Ohio, at this time was particularly bitter 
against the Shakers, and came out in its next 
issue with a story entitled, "Expedition 



78 



Shakerism 



Against the Shakers/' How different its bear- 
ing at the present time! On November 1, 
1912, when the writer was at Union Village 
with about forty friends, the editor of 
the Western Star also was there, regarded 
and received as a friend. It has been his 
custom to publish nothing in regard to the 
Shakers which has not received the approval 
of their leaders. In accordance with this 
custom, he requested something authoritative 
regarding the purpose of the United Brethren 
Church touching the community and the in- 
stitutions it proposes to establish on the 
grounds. On December 3, 1817, two mem- 
bers of the community went to Columbus to 
present a protest to the legislature against 
Editors Van Vleet and Cameron of the West- 
ern Star, and others on account of persecu- 
tion. This antagonism, however, gradually 
died away, and the changed policy of the 
paper has been maintained ever since. 

There were subsequent mobs in 1813, 1817, 
1819, and in 1824. Most of them had to do 
with getting some disciples out of the com- 



Shakerism 



79 



munity who were said to be detained forcibly 
against their wills. In every case the mob 
retreated without making its charges good, 
and the Shakers vindicated themselves in the 
eyes of their persecutors, as well as in the 
estimation of the public. 

Another species of persecution was of the 
legal character. An oppressive law was en- 
acted January 11, 1811, which was aimed at 
the property rights of men who joined the 
Shakers, and as a consequence turned over 
their property to the society. This was 
claimed to be a violation of the covenant of 
marriage. Two sections from this law are 
reproduced here as follows : 

"Be it further enacted, that all gifts, grants, 
or devises of money or property, real or per- 
sonal, which may be made by any man as 
aforesaid, violating the marriage covenant, to 
such sect as before described, or any members 
of such sect, which may tend to deprive his 
wife or children of that support to which they 
are entitled, according to the true intent and 
meaning of this act, shall be utterly void ; and 



80 



Shakerism 



all money or property so given, granted, or 
devised, may be recovered at the suit of the 
party injured. 

"And be it further enacted, that if any per- 
son shall, with an intent of causing any mar- 
ried man or woman to renounce the marriage 
covenant, or abandon their wives, husbands, 
or children, entice or persuade such person to 
join any sect, or denomination of persons 
whatever, whose principles and practice incul- 
cate a renunciation of the matrimonial con- 
tract, or the abandonment of wives and 
children, or either of them, contrary to the 
true intent and meaning of the marriage in- 
stitution, shall, on conviction thereof, be fined 
in any sum not exceeding five hundred dol- 
lars, at the discretion of the court having by 
law jurisdiction; and that all fines incurred 
under this section shall be paid into the 
treasury of the proper county for the use of 
the same. ,, 

The Shakers have suffered from the Pres- 
byterians, the so-called schismatics, and even 
the Quakers. These things were incidental 



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Shakerism 



81 



to a religious communistic life, and perhaps 
should not be held against the oppressors. 
The Morgan raid during the Civil War af- 
fected the society somewhat at Whitewater, 
though greater depredations occurred a few 
miles distant. Storms have been unfavorable, 
and buildings destroyed by floods. Unprin- 
cipled rascals have regarded the Shakers as 
"easy," and have cheated them out of thou- 
ands of dollars. 

Some frauds were on the inside. Time 
after time schemers have come to the village, 
and have professed conversion to Shaker faith 
solely to secure appointments as trustees. This 
meant the handling of funds; and the hidden 
purpose was to abscond with a lot of money 
that had been accumulated by the industry of 
honest but unsuspecting folks. It was pretty 
safe to follow this method, because the 
Shakers were opposed to going to law to re- 
cover property. A few actual incidents may 
be cited here: 

A man came to Union Village under the 
significant name of Lorenzo Dow Dobbins, 



82 



Shakerism 



presumed to be fictitious to inspire confidence. 
Consequent upon practiced shrewdness, he 
was advanced to a high degree, and in four 
months decamped with $1,500. A few years 
ago Mr. Fennessey received word that some 
sheep were being loaded on a car at Monroe 
Station, near Union Village, and that they 
looked like the sheep of the Shaker farm. The 
informant said there were thirty-eight head. 
It happened that Mr. Fennessey had counted 
and marked all his sheep just a day or two 
before. Lining them up, he discovered that 
thirty-eight were missing. Wiring to Cincin- 
nati to hold the car and arrest the man, pas- 
sage was taken for the Queen City. No one 
appeared during the entire night, but at eight 
in the morning a man came into the hotel to 
secure a buyer for the car of sheep. He was 
recognized as one who had been entertained 
recently at the village. Mr. Fennessey's ideas 
about helping other people to observe the law 
are somewhat different from those of his 
predecessors. The man was arrested, but re- 



Shakerism 



83 



leased on a bond of $500, which he jumped; 
but the sheep came back. 

Cattle have been stolen time after time by 
the assistance of some one on the inside. In 
1890 an official stole a whole drove, worth 
about $750. He was captured in the State 
of Washington and given a penitentiary sen- 
tence ; but the cattle did not come back. On 
one of the farms three defalcations in ten 
years are recorded. There are records of 
many fires also. As if to vary the experiences 
of the settlement, a member felt it his duty 
to burn a lot of the buildings, and was caught 
in the act. There is a record of six burned 
buildings in four years. At one time all the 
buildings of the south family were reduced 
to smoke and ashes. It is strange that even 
Shakers allowed themselves to be imposed 
upon to such an extent. 

Investing poorly, stealing, defrauding, 
squandering money, litigation, cheating, are a 
few of the ways the Shakers have been de- 
prived of money earned by constant and de- 
voted industry. 



84 



Shakerism 



Out of the fires of persecution there came 
a refinement of life. But no greater degree 
of purity can atone for the scores of animals 
that were burned alive in the barns set on 
fire by heartless men, as cruel as any who ever 
drew the breath of life; moreover, the most 
of them having been the recipients of kind- 
ness at the hands of the Shakers themselves. 



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Shaker Covenant 

ONE became a member of the Spiritual 
Order of the Shakers when he signed 
the regular covenant. This implied 
that the applicant was twenty-one years of 
age, was willing to engage in the communistic 
life as regards property rights, and to live in 
strict celibacy. Any history of the Shakers 
has greater value if their covenant, or their 
constitution, as it was called, is understood. 
The records make no detailed mention of the 
covenant between the parent society at New 
Lebanon and the adjunct societies until 1829, 
at which time a general letter was sent from 
the East, accompanied by the covenant. This 
was read to the Shakers at Union Village on 
December 27 of that year, and on the last day 
of 1829 it was signed by the church members. 

The letter recounts the method God used in 
governing his people in Old Testament and 
New Testament times, and argues from that 
for the divine appointment of elders through 



87 



88 



Shakerism 



representatives as outlined in chapter one of 
this volume. It attempts to show the neces- 
sity for elders, deacons, and trustees to con- 
duct properly the spiritual and business affairs 
of the Shaker community. "Divine provi- 
dence/' it says, "for wise purposes has per- 
mitted all earthly government in some way 
or manner to emanate from the people ; but, 
whenever Infinite Wisdom has seen fit to 
establish a spiritual or religious government 
for the benefit of his covenant people, it has 
necessarily originated from divine appoint- 
ment; and its continuance has been signally 
blessed by an overruling providence.'' The 
letter makes claim that "the written covenant 
is but a transcript of the internal principles 
and law of Christ which govern and protect 
this society." 

This new covenant of 1829 was to take 
the place of one signed sixteen years pre- 
viously, the necessity for renewal being seen 
in the "many trying scenes" and the "much 
valuable experience in things spiritual and 
temporal" which had been woven into the 



Shakerism 



89 



history of Shakerism. As a sample of Shaker 
logic, and for better understanding of Shaker 
principles and government, this renewed cov- 
enant or constitution is reproduced in full : 

Preamble. 

We, the Brethren and Sisters of the United 
Society of Believers (called Shakers), resid- 
ing in the County of Warren, and State of 
Ohio, being connected together as a religious 
and social community, distinguished by the 
name and title of — The Church of the United 
Society at Union Village, which for many 
years has been established, and in successful 
operation under the charge and protection of 
the Ministry and Eldership thereof : — feeling 
the importance of not only renewing and con- 
firming our spiritual covenant with God and 
each other, but also of renewing and improv- 
ing our social compact, and amending the 
written form thereof : — do make, ordain and 
declare the following Articles of agreement 
as a summary of the principles, rules and 
regulations established in the Church of said 
United Society which are to be kept and 
maintained by us, both in our collective and 
individual capacities, as a Covenant, or Con- 
stitution, which shall stand as a lawful testi- 
mony of our religious Association before all 



90 



Shakerism 



men, and in all case of question in law, re- 
lating to the possession and improvement of 
our united and consecrated interest, property 
and estate. 

Article I. the Gospel Ministry. 
We solemnly declare to each other and to 
all whom it may concern, that we have re- 
ceived, and do hereby acknowledge as the 
foundation of our faith, Order and Govern- 
ment, the testimony or Gospel of Christ, in 
His first and second appearing; and we do 
hereby solemnly agree to support and main- 
tain the same as administered by the Found- 
ers of this Society, and kept and conveyed 
through a regular Order of Ministration down 
to the present day; And although (as a re- 
ligious society) we are variously associated, 
with respect to the local situations of our 
respective Communities ; we are known and 
distinguished as a peculiar people, and con- 
sider and acknowledge ourselves members of 
our general Community, possessing one faith, 
and subject to the administration of one 
united and parental government, which has 
been regularly supported from the first 
foundation pillars of the Institution, and 
which continues to operate for the support, 
protection and strength of every part of the 
Community. 



Shakerism 



91 



Section 2. Their Order and Office. We 
further acknowledge and declare, that for the 
purpose of promoting and maintaining union, 
order and harmony throughout the various 
branches of this Community, the Primary 
authority of the Institution has been settled 
in the first established Ministry at New Leb- 
anon, there to rest and remain as the general 
center of union by all who stand in Gospel 
relation and communion with this society. The 
established order of this Ministry includes 
four persons, two of each sex. 

Section 5. Perpetuity of Their Office and 
How Supplied. We further acknowledge and 
declare, that the aforesaid primary authority 
has been, and is to be perpetuated as follows, 
namely that the first in that office and calling 
possess the right, by the sanction of Divine 
Authority, given through the first Founder 
of the Society, to appoint their successors, and 
to prescribe or direct any regulation or ap- 
pointment which they may judge most proper 
and necessary respecting the Ministry, or any 
other important matter which may concern 
the welfare of the Church or Society subse- 
quent to their decease. 

But in case no such appointment or regula- 
tion be so prescribed or directed, then the 
right to direct and authorize such appoint- 



92 



Shakerism 



ment and regulations devolves upon the sur- 
viving members of the Ministry in Counsel 
with the Elders of the Church, and others^ 
as the nature of the case, in their judgment 
may require. Such appointments being offi- 
cially communicated to all concerned, and re- 
ceiving the general approbation of the Church, 
are confirmed and supported in the Society. 

Section 4. The Ministerial Office in the 
Several Societies or Communities. We further 
acknowledge and declare, covenant and agree 
that the Ministerial Office and authority in 
any Society or Community of our faith, which 
has emanated, or may emanate, in a regular 
line of order from the center of union afore- 
said, is, and shall be acknowledged, owned 
and respected as the Spiritual and primary 
authority, of such Society or Community, in 
all matters pertaining to the Ministerial Office. 
And in case of the decease or removal of any 
individual of said Ministry, in any such So- 
ciety, his or her lot and place shall be filled 
by agreement of the surviving Ministers, in 
counsel with the Elders of the Church and 
others, as the nature of the case may require, 
together with the knowledge and approbation 
of the Ministerial authority at New Lebanon 
aforesaid. 



Shakerism 



93 



Section 5. Powers and Duties of the Min- 
istry. We further acknowledge and declare, 
that the Ministry being appointed and estab- 
lished as aforesaid, are vested with the pri- 
mary auhority of the Church and its various 
branches; hence it becomes their special duty 
to guide and superintend the spiritual con- 
cerns of the Society, as a body of people un- 
der their care and government ; and in connec- 
tion with the Elders in their respective 
families and departments, who shall act in 
union with them, to give and establish such 
orders, rules and regulations as may be found 
necessary for the government and protection 
of the Church and Society within the limits 
of their jurisdiction; and also to correct, ad- 
vise and judge in all matters of importance, 
whether spiritual or temporal. The said Min- 
istry are also invested with authority, in con- 
nection with the Elders aforesaid, to 
nominate and appoint to office Ministers, 
Elders, Trustees and Deacons, and to assign 
offices of care and trust to such brethren and 
sisters, as they, the said Ministry and Elders 
shall judge to be best qualified for the several 
offices to which they may be appointed; — 
And we hereby covenant and agree that such 
nominations and appointments being made 
and officially communicated to those con- 



94 



Shakerism 



cerned, and receiving the general approbation 
of the Church as aforesaid, or the families 
concerned, shall henceforth be confirmed and 
Supported until altered or revoked by the 
authority aforesaid. 

Article II. Institution of the Church. 

Section i. The Object and Design of 
Church Relation, We further acknowledge 
and agree, that the great object, purpose and 
design of our uniting together as a Church 
or body of people in social and religious com- 
pact, is, faithfully and honestly to occupy 
and improve the various gifts and talents, 
both of a spiritual and temporal nature, with 
which Divine Wisdom has blest us, for the 
service of God, for the honor of the Gospel, 
and for the mutual protection, support, and 
happiness of each other, as Brethren and 
Sisters in the Gospel, and for such other pious 
and charitable purposes as the Gospel may 
require. 

Section 2. Who Are Not Admissible Into 
Church Relation. As the unity, purity, and 
stability of the Church, essentially depend on 
the character and qualifications of its mem- 
bers ; and as it is a matter of importance that 
it should not be encumbered with persons not 
duly qualified for that distinguished relation: 
— therefore, we agree, that no member of any 



Shakerism 



95 



company or association in business or civil 
concern ; no copartner in trade ; no person un- 
der any legal involvement or obligations of 
service; no slave nor slave-holder, shall be 
deemed qualified for admission into the coven- 
ant relation and communion of the Church. 

Section 5. Preparation for Admission into 
the Church. In order that Believers may be 
prepared for entering into the sacred privilege 
of Church relation, it is of primary importance 
that sufficient opportunity and privilege should 
be afforded under the ministry of the Gospel, 
for them to acquire suitable instruction in 
the genuine principles of righteousness, hon- 
esty, justice and holiness; and also that they 
should prove their faith and Christian moral- 
ity by their practical obedience to the precept 
of the Gospel, according to their instructions. 
It is also indispensably necessary for them to 
receive the uniting Spirit of Christ and to be 
so far of one heart and mind, that they are 
willing to sacrifice all other relations for this 
sacred one. Another essential step is, to settle 
all just and equitable claims of creditors and 
filial heirs; so that whatever property they 
possess may be justly their own. When this 
is done, and they feel themselves sufficiently 
prepared to make a deliberate and final choice 
to devote themselves wholly, to the service of 



96 



Shakerism 



God, without reserve, and it shall be deemed 
proper by the leading authority of Church, 
after examination and due consideration, to 
allow them to associate together in the 
capacity of a church, or a branch thereof in 
Gospel order ; they may then consecrate them- 
selves, and all they possess, to the service of 
God forever and confirm the same by signing 
a written Covenant, predicated upon the prin- 
ciples herein contained, and by fulfilling on 
their part, all its obligations. 

Section 4. Admission of New Members, 
As the door must be kept open for the admis- 
sion of new members into the Church, when 
duly prepared, it is agreed that each and every 
person w T ho shall at any time after the date 
and execution of the Church Covenant, in any 
branch of the Community, be admitted into the 
Church, as a member thereof, shall previously 
have a first opportunity to obtain a full, clear 
and explicit understanding of the object and 
design of the Church Covenant, and of the 
obligations it enjoins on its members. For 
this purpose he or she shall, in the presence of 
two of the deacons, or acting Trustees of the 
Church, read said Covenant or hear the same 
distinctly read; so as to be able, freely, to 
acknowledge his full approbation and accept- 
ance thereof, in all its parts. Then, he, she, 



Shakerism 



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or they, as the case may be, shall be at liberty 
to sign the same and having signed and sealed 
it, shall thenceforth be entitled to all the bene- 
fits and privileges thereof, and be subject to all 
the obligations required of the original 
signers : And the signature or signatures thus 
added, shall be certified by the said Deacons 
or Trustees, with the date thereof. 

Section 5. Concerning Youth and Children. 
Youth and children, being minors, cannot be 
received as members of the Church, in its 
Covenant relation; yet it is agreed that they 
may be received under the immediate care 
and government of the Church, at the desire 
or consent of such person or persons as have 
lawful right to, or control of, such minors, 
together with their own desire or consent but 
no minor under the care of the Church can 
be employed therein for wages of any kind. 

Article III. The Trusteeship. 
Section 1. Appointment, Qualifications and 
Powers of the Trustees. In the establishment 
of orders in the various branches of the So- 
ciety, it has been found necessary that super- 
intending Deacons or agents should be ap- 
pointed and authorized to act as Trustees of 
the temporalities of the Church. Deaconesses 
are also associated with them to superintend 
the concerns of the female department. They 



98 



Shakerism 



must be recommended by their honesty and 
integrity, their fidelity and trust, and their 
capacity for business. Of these qualifications 
the Ministry and Elders must be the judges. 
These Trustees are generally known among 
us by the title of Office Deacons, and being 
appointed by the authority aforesaid, and 
supported by the general approbation of the 
Church, they are vested with power to take 
the general charge and oversight of all the 
property, estate, and interest, dedicated, de- 
volved, consecrated and given up for the bene- 
fit of the Church; to hold, in trust, the fee of 
all lands belonging to the Church; together 
with all the gifts, grants, and donations, which 
have been, or may be hereafter dedicated, 
devoted, consecrated and given up as afore- 
said; and the said property, estate, interest, 
gifts, grants and donations, shall constitute 
the united and consecrated interest of the 
Church, shall be held in trust by said Deacons 
as acting Trustees — in their official capacity, 
and by their successors in said office and trust 
forever. 

Section 2. Duties of the Trustees. It is 
and shall be the duty of the said Deacons or 
acting Trustees to improve, use and appro- 
priate the said united interest for the benefit 
of the Church in all its departments, and for 



Shakerism 



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such other religious and charitable purposes 
as the Gospel may require; and also to make 
all just and equitable defense in law, for the 
protection and security of the consecrated and 
united interest, rights and privileges of the 
Church and Society jointly and severally, as an 
associated Community, as far as circumstances, 
and the nature of the case may require. Pro- 
vided nevertheless, that all the transactions 
of the said Trustees, in the use, management, 
protection, defence and disposal of the afore- 
said interest, shall be for the benefit and 
privilege, and in behalf of the Church or of 
the Society as aforesaid, and not for any pri- 
vate interest, object, or purpose whatever. 

Section j. Trustees to Give Information 
and Be Responsible to Ministry and Elders. 
It shall also be the duty of the said Trustees 
to give information to the Ministry and Elders 
of the Church, concerning the general state 
of the temporal concerns of the Church and 
Society committed to their charge; and to 
report to said authority all losses sustained in 
the united interest thereof, which shall come 
under their cognizance ; and no disposal of the 
real estate of the Church, nor any important 
interest, involving the association in any man- 
ner, shall be made without the previous 
knowledge and approbation of the Ministry 



100 



Shakerism 



aforesaid; to whom the said Deacons or 
Trustees are, and shall at all times be held 
responsible in all their transactions. 

Section 4. Account Books and Books of 
Record to be Kept. It is, and shall be the 
duty of the said Trustees or Official Deacons 
to keep, or cause to be kept, regular books of 
account, in which shall be entered the debit 
and credit accounts of all mercantile opera- 
tions and business transactions between the 
Church and others; all receipts and expendi- 
tures, bonds, notes, and bills of account, and 
all matters pertaining to the united interest 
of the Church; so that its financial concerns 
may be readily seen and known whenever 
called for by the proper authority; — and also, 
a book or books of record, in which shall be 
recorded a true and correct copy of this 
Covenant; also all appointments, removals 
and changes in office of Ministers, Elders, 
Deacons and Trustees; all admissions, re- 
movals, decease and departure of members; 
together with all other matters and transac- 
tions of a public nature which are necessary 
to be recorded for the benefit of the Church, 
and for the preservation and security of the 
documents, papers and written instruments 
pertaining to the united interest and concerns 
of the Church, committed to their charge. 



Shakerism 



101 



And the said records shall, at all times, be 
open to the inspection of the leading author- 
ity of the Church, who shall appoint an audi- 
tor or auditors to examine and correct any 
errors that may, at any time be found in the 
accounts, and whose signature and date of in- 
spection shall be deemed sufficient authority 
for the correctness and validity of the facts 
and matters, therein recorded. 

Section 5. Trustees to Execute a Declara- 
tion or Trust. For the better security of the 
united and consecrated interest of the Church 
to the proper uses and purposes stipulated in 
the Covenant, it shall be the duty of the Trus- 
tees who may be vested with the lawful title 
or claim to the real estate of the Church, to 
make and execute a declaration of Trust, in 
due form of law, embracing all and singular, 
the lands, tenements and hereditaments, with 
every matter of interest pertaining to the 
Church, which, at the time being, may be 
vested in him or them or that may in future 
come under his or their charge, during his or 
their Trusteeship. The said Declaration shall 
state expressly, that such Trustee or Trustees 
hold such lands, tenements, hereditaments 
and all personal property of every description, 
belonging to the Church or Society, in Trust, 
for the uses and purposes expressed in, and 



102 



Shakerism 



subject to the rules, regulations and condi- 
tions prescribed By the Covenant or Constitu- 
tion of the said Church, or any amendments 
thereto which may hereafter be adopted by 
the general approbation of the Church, and 
in conformity to the primitive facts and 
acknowledged principles of the Society; and 
the said declaration shall be in writing, duly 
executed under the hand and seal of such 
Trustee or Trustees, and shall be recorded in 
the Book of Records, provided for in the 
preceding section. 

Section 6. Vacancies in Certain Cases How 
Supplied. We further covenant and agree, 
that in case it should at any time happen that 
the office of Trustee should become vacant, 
by the death or defection of all of the Trus- 
tees in whom may be vested the fee of the 
lands or real estate belonging to said Church 
or Society, then, and in that case, a successor 
or successors shall be appointed by the con- 
stitutional authority recognized in the coven- 
ant, according to the rules and regulations 
prescribed by the same; — and the said ap- 
pointment, being duly recorded in the Book of 
Records provided for in this Article, shall be 
deemed, and is hereby declared to vest in such 
successors, all the right, interest and Authority 
of his or their predecessors in respect to all 



Shakerism 



103 



such lands, property or estate belonging to 
the Church or Society aforesaid. 

Article IV. The Eldership. 

Section I. Choice and Appointment of 
Elders. The united interests and objects of 
Believers established in Gospel order, requires 
that Elders should be chosen and appointed 
for the spiritual protection of families, who 
are to take the lead in their several depart- 
ments, in the care and government of the con- 
cerns of the Church, and of the several families 
pertaining to the Society. Their number and 
order should correspond with that of the Min- 
istry. They are required to be persons of 
good understanding, of approved faithfulness 
and integrity, and gifted in spiritual adminis- 
tration. They must be selected and appointed 
by the Ministry, who are to judge of their 
qualifications. 

Section 2. Duties of the Elders. As faith- 
ful Watchmen on the walls of Zion, it be- 
comes the duty of the Elders to watch over 
their respective families, to instruct the mem- 
bers in their respective duties ; — to counsel, en- 
courage, admonish, exhort and reprove, as 
occasion may require ; to lead the worship ; to 
be examples to the members of obedience to 
the principles and orders of the Gospel, and 
to see that orders, rules and regulations per- 



104 



Shakerism 



taining to their respective families or depart- 
ments are properly kept. 

Article V. Family Deacons and 
Deaconesses. 

The office of family Deacons and Dea- 
conesses has long been established in the 
Church, and is essentially necessary for the 
care, management and direction of the domes- 
tic concerns in each family, order or branch 
of the Church. They are required to be per- 
sons of correct and well grounded faith in 
the established principles of the Gospel; hon- 
est and faithful in duty, closely united to their 
Elders, and of sufficient capacity for business. 
Of these qualifications the Ministry and 
Elders, by whom they are chosen and ap- 
appointed are to be the judges. Their num- 
bers in each family is generally two of each 
sex, but may be more or less, according to the 
size of the family and the extent of their 
various duties. 

Section 2. Their Duties and Obligations. 
The Deacons and Deaconesses of families are 
entrusted with the care and oversight of the 
domestic concerns of their respective families. 
It is their duty to make proper arrangements 
in business ; to maintain good order ; to watch 
over and counsel and direct the members in 
their various occupations, as occasion may 



Shakerism 



105 



require; to make application to the Office 
Deacons for whatever supplies are needed in 
the several departments of the family; to 
maintain union, harmony and good under- 
standing with the said Office Deacons and 
Deaconesses ; and to report to their Elders, the 
state of matters which fall under their cogniz- 
ance and observation. But their power is 
restricted to the domestic concerns of their re- 
spective families or departments, and does not 
extend to any immediate or direct corre- 
spondence or intercourse with those without 
the bounds of the Church: They have no im- 
mediate concern with trade and commerce; it 
is not their business to buy and sell, nor in any 
way to dispose of the property under their 
care, except with the union and approbation 
of the Trustees. 

Article VI. Privileges and Obligations 
of Members. 

Section i. Benefits and Privileges of Mem- 
bers in Church Relation. The united interest 
of the Church having been formed by the 
free-will offerings and pious donations of the 
members respectively, for the objects and pur- 
poses already stated, it cannot be considered 
either as a joint tenancy or a tenancy in com- 
mon, but a consecrated whole, designed for, 
and devoted to the uses and purposes of the 



106 



Shakerism 



Gospel forever, agreeable to the established 
principles of the Church; — 

Therefore, it shall be held, possessed and 
enjoyed by the Church in this united capacity, 
as a sacred covenant right; that is to say, all, 
and every member thereof, while standing in 
Gospel union, and maintaining the principles 
of the Covenant, shall enjoy equal rights, 
benefits, and privileges, in the use of all things 
pertaining to the Church, according to their 
several needs and circumstances, and no differ- 
ence shall be made on account of what any- 
one has contributed and devoted, or may here- 
after contribute and devote, to the support 
and benefit of the institution. 

Section 2. Proviso. It is nevertheless Pro- 
vided, Stipulated and Agreed, that in case any 
one, having signed this Covenant, shall after- 
ward forfeit his or her claim to membership, 
by renouncing the principles of the Society, 
or by wilfully and obstinately violating the 
rules and regulations thereof, then, and in that 
case, his or her claims to all the aforesaid 
benefits, privileges and enjoyments, shall be 
equally forfeited. 

Section 5. Obligations of Members. As 
subordination and obedience are the life and 
soul of a well regulated community; so, our 
strength and protection, our happiness and 



Shakerism 



107 



prosperity, in our capacity of Church mem- 
bers, must depend on our faithful obedience 
to the rules and orders of the Church, and to 
the instruction, counsel and advice of its 
leaders: Therefore, we do hereby covenant 
and agree, that we will receive and acknowl- 
edge our Elders in the Gospel, those members 
of the Church, who are, or shall be chosen 
and appointed for the same time being, to that 
office and calling, by the authority aforesaid; 
and also, that we will, as faithful Brethren 
and Sisters in Christ, conform and subject to 
the known and established principles of our 
Community and to the counsel and direction 
of the Elders, who shall act in union as afore- 
said and also to all the orders, rules and regu- 
lations which, now are, or which may be given 
and established in the Church, according to 
the principles, and by the authority aforesaid. 

Section 4. Duties of the Members. The 
faithful improvement of our time and talents 
in doing good, is a duty which God requires 
of mankind as rational and accountable be- 
ings, and more especially as members of the 
Church of Christ — therefore it is, and will be 
required of all and every member of this In- 
stitution, unitedly and individually, to occupy 
and improve their time and talents to support 
and maintain the interest of the same, to pro- 



108 



Shakerism 



mote the objects of this Covenant, and dis- 
charge their duty to God and each other, ac- 
cording to their several abilities and callings, 
as members in union with one common lead; 
so that the various gifts and talents of All 
may be improved for the benefit of Each and 
all concerned. 

Section 5. No Special Claims in Case of 
Removal As we esteem the mutual posses- 
sion and enjoyment of the consecrated 
interest and principles of the Church, a con- 
sideration fully adequate to any amount of 
personal interest, labor or service, or any other 
contribution made, devoted or consecrated by 
an individual ; — so we consider that no ground 
of action can lie, either in law or equity, for 
the recovery of any property, or service, de- 
voted, or consecrated as aforesaid. And we 
further agree, that in case of the removal of 
any member or members from one family, 
society or branch of the Church to another, 
his, her, or their pervious signature or signa- 
tures to the Church or family Covenant from 
whence he, she, or they, shall have removed, 
shall forever bar all claims which are incom- 
patible with the true intent and meaning of 
this Covenant, in the same manner as if such 
removal had not taken place ; yet, all who shall 
so remove in union, and with the approbation 



Shakerism 



109 



of their Elders shall be entitled to all the 
benefits and privileges of the family or order 
in which they shall be placed, as they shall 
conform to the rules and regulations of the 
same. 

Article VII. Dedication and Release. 

Section i. Dedication of Persons, Services 
and Property. According to the faith of the 
Gospel which we have received, and agree- 
ment to the uniform practice of the Church 
of Christ from its first establishment in the 
Society. We covenant and agree to dedicate, 
devote and consecrate and give up, and by this 
Covenant we do solemnly and conscientiously 
dedicate, devote, consecrate and give up our- 
selves and our services, together with all our 
temporal interest, to the service of God and 
the support and benefit of the Church of 
Christ in this Community, and to such other 
pious and charitable purposes as the Gospel 
may require, to be under the care and direc- 
tion of the proper constituted authorities of 
the said Church, according to the true mean- 
ing and intent of the Covenant, and the estab- 
lished rules and practice of the Church. 

Section 2. Declaration and Release of Pri- 
vate Claim. Whereas, in pursuance of the re- 
quirements of the Gospel, and in the full 
exercise of our faith, reason and understand- 



110 



Shakerism 



ing, we have freely and voluntarily sacrificed 
all self-interest, and have devoted our per- 
sons, services and our property as aforesaid, 
to the pious and benevolent purposes of the 
Gospel; — Therefore, we do hereby solemnly, 
and conscientiously, unitedly and individually, 
for ourselves, our heirs and assigns, release 
and quit-claim to the Deacons, or those who, 
for the time being, are the acting Trustees of 
the Church, for the uses and purposes afore- 
said, All our private personal right, title, in- 
terest, claim and demand, of, in and to the 
estate, interest, property and appurtenances so 
consecrated, devoted, and given up: And we 
hereby jointly and severally promise and de- 
clare, in the presence of God and before wit- 
nesses that we will never hereafter, neither 
directly nor indirectly, under any circum- 
stances whatever, contrary to the stipulations 
of this Covenant, make or require any account 
of any interest, property, labor or service, nor 
any division thereof, which is, has been or 
may be devoted by us, or any of us, to the 
uses and purposes aforesaid, nor bring any 
charge of debt or damage, nor hold any claim, 
nor demand whatever, against the said Dea- 
cons or Trustees, nor against the Church or 
Society, nor against any member thereof, on 
account of any property or service given, 



Shakerism 



111 



rendered, devoted or consecrated to the afore- 
said sacred charitable purposes. And we also 
ratify and confirm hereby, every act and deed 
which we, or any of us, have acted or done 
agreeable to the true intent and mean of the 
Covenant. 

In confirmation of all the aforesaid state- 
ments, covenants, promises and articles of 
agreement, we have hereunto subscribed our 
names and affixed our seals, on and after this 
twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of 
our Lord and Savior — one thousand eight 
hundred and forty-one. 



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Shaker Decadence 

HERE is a manifest quickening of the 



pace toward the Shaker cemetery, 
and one must feel a touch of sadness 



as he sees these God-fearing people disappear- 
ing as a religious sect. They have been honest 
and straightforward in their methods, trust- 
ful to a degree injurious to themselves, and 
credulous beyond reason. They have given 
up all personal property for a peculiar form 
of communism. Their mode of address is by 
given name, with prefix of Sister or Brother. 
The views of the world are against this form 
of government, particularly since the rule of 
separation of the sexes remains. When the 
writer first visited Union Village, the family 
consisted of twenty-six persons. None have 
been received since that date, and nine of that 
number have passed to the great beyond. 
Time is ruthless in its effect, and disease, 
though having great respect for the upright 




115 



116 



Shakerism 



Shaker life, finally reaches its desired mark 
and transfers one more human body back to 
mother earth. A society which spends itself 
and does not recuperate can have but one end. 
Although the time of dissolution may be con- 
tingent, the fact is certain. 

Shaker communities began to decline about 
sixty years ago, and have continued steadily. 
The time was shortened by the frequent back- 
slidings of members, and their return to what 
the faithful called "the world.'' Some of the 
societies have kept pretty accurate journals of 
the accessions and losses of members, which 
combine the pathetic with the humorous. 
Some typical entries in the records of the 
Watervliet Society, of Ohio, are copied for 
the year 1857, omitting the month and day. 
The spelling and punctuation appear as here 
given. These brief notations suggest one 
cause of the decline in numbers : 

"Eliza Welchammer went to the world, tak- 
ing her five children, and Peters' child." 
"Martha Parker turned oft to the world/' 
"John McDaniel turned off to the world." 



Shakerism 



117 



"John Short, Henry and George Grub ran off 
to the world." "George Grub came back and 
obtained another privilege." "George Graham 
turned off to the world." "William Boswell 
went to the world." "Godlib Myers and his 
family moved away, to the great joy of us 
all." "Martha Harris turned off to the world ; 
but received back in three months." "Rich- 
ard Murphy went to the world having two 
privileges, he coveted and took." 

"John Carrol came with a wagon and took 
his wife and three children away." "Joseph 
and Lydia Ann Stoker was taken away by 
their parents." "Mary Carrol came and took 
her two girls, first of May." "William Harris 
or Barret, came and obtained a privilege, and 
on the eighteenth he went off. We consid- 
ered him not a fit subject about twelve years 
old." "William and Joseph Edmonds went to 
the world. George Grubs and Charles Shorts 
going along." "Emma Jane and Frances Vir- 
ginia McNichols (four and six years old) 
were bound to us by their mother, the last 
day of June 1857." "Elder Sister Adaline, 



118 



Shakerism 



and David Eastwood, bro't home from the 
Dayton poorhouse two boys, viz., Washington 
Montgomery and Stephen Martin, the first 
twelve and the other four years old." "Thomas 
Williams and Elder Sister Adaline, bro't 
home from Xeny poorhouse two boys, and a 
girl, the oldest thirteen years, Name Howard 
Ransbottom, youngest boy four years old, 
Name Stephen Martin and a girl seven years 
old, Name Clarry Dore Stephenson." 

"John Thompson and William Williams 
went to the world." "McClothing James, 
came here; James got sore eyes and went to 
get them cured." "Diana Morehouse came 
here, and set out (Irish), fifty-eight years 
old." "William Hinch ran away to his mother 
in Dayton." "Washington Montgomery was 
taken back to the poorhouse (thief)." "Wal- 
ter Vann, and Ann his wife, with their two 
girls by the name of Anna M., came here 
from Philadelphia to be believers." "Richard 
Wilson (coulered) and coulered girls by the 
name of Martha and Sophrona Melone, aged 
and thirteen years, these girls were adopted 



Shakerism 



119 



into his family, and he gave them to us to 
bring up." 

"Barney Rourka set out, he is Irish, thirty- 
one years old, shoemaker, gone to the world." 
"George Smith (Typesetter) backed out De- 
cember 9th." "Lucy Lemons was kindly in- 
vited to go to the world. She went." "Lydia 
Ann Edmonds was taken to her mother 
(sister to William)." "Boy by the name of 
William Green, two years old, without father 
or mother; he united." "Englishman by the 
name of Robert Wilson united, turned off 
soon." "Henry Bankman, German, sixty-six 
years old, he united." "Mary Elizabeth Ryley 
was taken to the world." "Ambagini Harris 
went to the world." 

The influence of such men as Richard 
Realf was not conducive to the upbuilding of 
Shakerism. Realf had been secretary to John 
Brown during the latter's trouble in Kansas. 
He became a Shaker at Union Village in 1859. 
While in Kansas he had undergone much suf- 
fering in helping Brown to establish freedom, 
and often was in great danger. Oliver Hamp- 



120 



Shakerism 



ton, noticed before as a leader in Shaker 
spiritualism, says that Realf announced him- 
self as weary of the world and desirous of 
rest. He possessed unusual abilities, and was 
favored by the Shakers so that he might 
rapidly learn their principles and ways. Soon 
he became the greatest preacher ever con- 
nected with Union Village, and both believers 
and unbelievers listened to him with delight. 
However, his period was brief, for he longed 
for the ways of the world, and became a 
major during the Civil War. Hampton says 
that he became entangled by the wiles of a 
woman and committed suicide. 

But the chief seeds of Shaker decadence 
must be looked for within its own peculiar 
doctrine. Without any apostasy, without any 
outside oppression, this form of communism 
must have an end. That some leaders have lost 
faith in the chief economic principles and 
tenets of Shakerism is shown by the scarcity 
of political socialists among the present mem- 
bership. The world never has seen a better 
display of the good parts of socialism, com- 



Shakerism 



121 



bined with an absence of its bad features. 
Naturally speaking, the Shakers would vote 
the Socialist ticket if anybody would; but not 
so when election day comes. 

Money does not insure the success of a 
communistic order. Although Union Village 
was involved heavily in debt when Mr. James 
H. Fennessey took active charge, all that has 
been paid, the members maintained in splendid 
style, and over a hundred thousand dollars 
accumulated in stocks and bonds and other 
securities now in one of the Lebanon banks. 
Money is absolutely no object with the Union 
Village Shakers, for they have more of it 
than they can use during their lifetime, even 
though they should supply every need more 
than a dozen times. 

When years crept on and strength dimin- 
ished, Union Village farms were leased to 
tenants. For from ten to twenty years the 
lands have been farmed on the halves, subject 
to all the changes and most of the indignities 
to which rented land is heir. For eighteen 
months the entire estate was in the hands of 



122 



Shakerism 



a receiver, Judge J. A. Runyan, of Lebanon; 
not because the farms were involved, but be- 
cause the Shakers did not have sufficient 
strength to care for them longer. This re- 
ceivership was lifted in the autumn of 1911, 
and Mr. Fennessey again assumed control, 
which position he holds until the transfer of 
the property is made to the United Brethren 
Church. Because the local Shakers were un- 
able to care for the farm longer, because 
there was no prospect of increasing the num- 
ber by securing new members, because the 
question of suitable tenants is becoming more 
and more an unsolved problem, and because 
of the difficulty of farming the land from the 
parent society at New Lebanon, it was thought 
best to dispose of this estate. An item in an 
evening paper in the autumn of 1909, sug- 
gesting that the Shaker farm might pass into 
other hands, led to the conception of securing 
it for orphanage and home purposes for the 
United Brethren Church. The way was 
opened for this possibility by the long resi- 
dence there of Miss Liddell, and by the fact 



Shakerism 



123 



that her nephew, Mr. Granville Hixson, was 
a member of the First United Brethren 
church of Dayton, Ohio, and by the further 
fact that he visited Shakertown every year, 
and stood high in the favor of its members. 
Had it not been for these two living links, 
there is little human probability that negotia- 
tions would have been entered upon to secure 
this estate. 

Dr. W. R. Funk, because of his recognized 
business ability and his standing in the busi- 
ness world, was the first United Brethren 
counseled in regard to this proposition. Mr. 
Moore S. Mason, second man in business 
standing and management at Union Village, 
was the first Shaker to whom the project 
was mentioned. This occurred in the late 
winter of 1909-10. Both men gave hearty 
approval to the plan, and the outcome, to- 
gether with whatever the future may bring, 
was the result of careful deliberation from 
that date. The successful issue of the nego- 
tiations, humanly speaking, would have been 
impossible without the invaluable work of 



124 



Shakerism 



Doctor Funk. The agreement made on October 
14, 1912, and signed in qaudruple form on the 
following day, called tor the transfer of this 
splendid property to the United Brethren 
Church on March 1, 1913. The purchase 
price was agreed upon as $325,000. Of this 
amount $50,000 was promised at the time of 
transfer, 8100,000 on March 1, 1918, and the 
remainder, $175,000, on March 1, 1923. The 
rate of interest on deferred payments was set 
at four per cent., besides what tax should be 
assessed to the notes. Should the tax remain 
the same as when the agreement was drawn 
up, it will stand at four and seventy-four hun- 
dredths per cent. 

The Shakers regarded the land worth $400,- 
000, stripped of all buildings, valued conserva- 
tively. They made a voluntary concession of 
$50,000, and reduced the price another $25,- 
000, partly because they desire to use one 
building for ten years or less, and partly be- 
cause of the philanthropic object for which 
the land was purchased. They much pre- 
ferred that the estate be devoted to some form 



Shakerism 



125 



of Christian service or philanthropy similar to 
that which had been carried forward thereon 
for more than a century. This was the spirit 
of Elder Joseph Holden, East Pittsfield, 
Massachusetts, their chief minister, and of 
Arthur Bruce, East Canterbury, New Hamp- 
shire, their leading eastern trustee, both of 
whom participated in the business conferences 
looking toward the sale of the estate. In this 
spirit they represented the entire membership 
east and west. Needless to add, Mr. Fen- 
nessey, Mr. Mason, and others of Union Vil-, 
lage were whole-hearted in their sympathy 
with a transfer for the proposed philanthropy. 
Judges of real estate say that the ground 
alone is worth $500,000. The buildings could 
not be replaced for $250,000. These were 
worth almost nothing to Shakers, because they 
had no use for them, and hence were not in- 
cluded in their valuation of the land. These 
buildings are exactly what the United Brethren 
Church needs for the orphanage and various 
homes, and with a renovation will be ready 
for immediate service. It is right, therefore, 



126 



Shakerism 



that their value be added to the worth of the 
land in computing the acquired assets of the 
Church into whose possession the farm comes. 

What about the future? It is proposed to 
establish an orphanage, where unfortunate 
boys and girls may be given Christian train- 
ing, a liberal education running through the 
high-school course, and a knowledge of useful 
arts and trades in the most healthful place in 
God's great out-of-doors. A home for the 
children of foreign missionaries who cannot 
be taken to distant lands with their parents 
also is planned. Besides these two, it is pro- 
posed to establish an old people's home, a 
home for deaconesses, a rest home, and a 
home for dependent preachers and their wives. 
Orphan children should not be left to what 
little tender mercy the world will show them. 
Faithful members of the Church and loyal 
heralds of the Cross should not be permitted 
to want for the necessities of life after their 
producing years have passed. Nor should 
they be made to feel that they are the objects 
of charity. Every United Brethren preacher 



Shakerism 



127 



who finds a home here should regard it as 
part pay for the service he has rendered to 
the Church and to the kingdom. 

It is not the part of wisdom to write his- 
tory ahead of time. However, the preceding 
statement of purposes is due the reader. May 
it help him to feel an obligation to acquire a 
personal interest in this great undertaking. 
With that hope in the writer's heart, an extra 
leaf closes every chapter, and this volume will 
not have accomplished its designed and de- 
sired purpose until these leaves are clipped 
according to instructions printed thereon. 

This book was begun at an hour when the 
kings and queens of the American ballot-box 
were depositing their first votes for President 
and other elective officers. It was concluded 
amid the blare of trumpets and the mingled 
cries of approval and enthusiasm as the ardent 
supporters of the several candidates read 
favorable returns that were flashed upon the 
numerous screens in the streets of the city. 
Every voter feels that he did his best for his 
country's welfare. Let every reader of this 



128 



Shakerism 



book likewise do his best to save for Chris- 
tian citizenship, and for manhood's noble 
career, and for womanhood's queenly sphere, 
that boy or that girl who has been deprived 
of one or both natural protectors. A country 
is unstable when its orphaned children are 
given to the streets and denied the . affection 
of any human heart. The ideal state is the one 
which takes the best care of its dependents, 
whether they be young or old. The philan- 
thropy in the interest of which this book is 
written does not believe in the survival of 
that only which is fittest from a physical stand- 
point, but in the proper care of those physi- 
cally unfit to live so that they may survive, 
and so that they may become a blessing to 
their day and generation. 



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Shaker Successors 




HAT shall be said further to those 
who shall stand in the stead of 



the honored Shakers at Union 



Village? Let those whom God has blessed 
abundantly with the goods of this world re- 
member the various institutions of the United 
Brethren Church in disposing of their prop- 
erty. Nor should they commit their wishes 
to a will, a document to be fought over in the 
courts to the dissipation of hard-earned 
money. This Orphanage and Home now be- 
comes a claimant on the generosity of sym- 
pathetic men and women. The deferred pay- 
ments on the Shaker farm should be covered 
by the offer of large amounts, either as 
straight gifts or in the form of annuities. The 
Orphanage and Home can pay a reasonable 
rate of interest on sums of $1,000 or above, 
on condition, of course, that the money or 
property representing money be turned over 



131 



132 



Shakerism 



to it for use, to be retained by the Orphanage 
and Home after the demise of the donor. 

Members of the United Brethren Church 
having no natural heirs are in possession of 
hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they 
should make the Church their beneficiary. 
Many other members possess more property 
than they ought to give to their children, even 
for the children's own sake; and these ought 
to remember some worthy interest of the 
Church in distributing their property. If our 
well-to-do or wealthy members upon whom 
age is crowding rapidly wish to invest their 
money at a reasonable interest rate, and thus 
have the income while they live, and know 
that the money is going to the place they de- 
sire it to go, they are hereby invited to cor- 
respond regarding the matter. Any letter 
concerning a gift, a note, a bequest, or an 
annuity, should be addressed to Publishing 
Agent W. R. Funk, Dayton, Ohio, or Editor 
J. M. Phillippi, Dayton, Ohio, or to Dr. John 
R. King, Dayton, Ohio, in care of either of 
the two persons first mentioned. When this 



Shakerism 



133 



book was written Doctor King had not estab- 
lished a permanent residence; hence this in- 
struction concerning letters written about gifts 
and directed to him. 

This new Orphanage and Home will be 
organized and conducted in such a way as 
to be in harmony with other like institutions 
of the Church. An Orphanage and Home, 
now caring for seventy-six boys and girls, is 
located at Quincy, Pennsylvania. A home 
for preachers and their wives is being estab- 
lished at Otterbein, California. 

The mission of this volume is evident to all. 
It is prepared and sent forth with the prayer 
that God may bless the life of the reader, and 
help to make the reader's life a blessing to 
those less fortunately situated. It is not con- 
cluded in the usual way, the author's faith 
in the future leading him to close these pages 
with the words, 

THE BEGINNING. 



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